The annual league meeting is in full swing and we have some news coming out around the Denver Broncos. Plenty of quotes and other topics for discussion, but one that stuck out to me was how general manager George Paton views wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. He called him one of the more explosive playmakers in the NFL and as far as draft compensation goes, Paton was perfectly happy to send the Miami Dolphins what they got for Waddle to join Denver.
Broncos daily recap
The biggest news of the day was hearing the Bo Nix is
ahead of schedule in his rehab and won’t miss any aspect of the Broncos offseason training program.
Broncos QB Bo Nix will be ready for OTAs
The news Broncos Country has been waiting to hear. GM George Paton confirmed that Bo Nix will be fully recovered from the fractured right ankle he suffered in the Divisional Round win over Buffalo on January 17 in time for OTAs in early May. Paton says Nix is “ahead of schedule” and already running and jumping. The second-year starter has been electric since Denver took him 12th overall in 2024, posting a 24-10 regular-season record with 7,706 passing yards and 54 touchdowns across two seasons. Now with Jaylen Waddle in the fold, a healthy Nix working with this offense from the jump of the offseason program is exactly the head start Denver needs.
Potent quotables
We have a ton of quotes from the NFL league meeting, but I’ll pick out some of the most interesting ones from GM George Paton here in today’s roundup:
On how the trade for WR Jaylen Waddle happened
“We had an interest at the trade deadline. I think that everyone knows that. It didn’t get very far then, but we still liked the player a lot. We got through our offseason process with our roster and then free agent meetings. Really, it was just still out there. At the [NFL] Combine, we hadn’t talked yet. Then when we got back from the Combine, we reached out to [Dolphins General Manager] Jon-Eric [Sullivan] and it kind of started from there. Obviously we did a lot of work on him. All of the coaches did [and] the scouts. We had done a lot of work at the trade deadline, and we felt like we knew the player well and we knew the person even better. We feel really good about the trade.”
On what WR Jaylen Waddle brings to the team
“He is one of the more explosive playmakers in the league, first and foremost. [He has] great makeup and [is] a great competitor. He will fit in well with our room. We really like our room. I’ve said that on a number of [occasions] with [WR] Courtland [Sutton], [WR] Pat Bryant, [WR] Troy [Franklin] and ‘Mimsy’ (WR Marvin Mims Jr.). We have a great room and he just upgrades—or he just helps the room. He opens up the run game, and he will open it up for the other receivers, so we think he will fit in well with the group.”
On how the WR Jaylen Waddle trade changes their draft strategy
“Obviously we’re focused on [Pick] 30 in the second [round]. We’ve fortunately been there before I think two different times. We have a good feel for that. We can hone in. It doesn’t mean we won’t trade up at some point, but we’ll have a really good feel for the 62nd pick or whatever we’re picking. We took [WR Marvin] Mims [Jr.] at [63], [OLB Nik] Bonitto at 64. [RB RJ] Harvey maybe 60, I think. We have a pretty good feel of that realm.”
On if they will consider moving any pieces in the wide receiver room
“No, we really like those pieces, and they’ll all going to help us. They’ve all helped us up to now. I’m going to [WR] Lil’Jordan [Humphrey] and [WR Michael] Bandy. We really like—we’re 7-8 deep. We really like it, so why would we build up this room and then trade someone right now?”
On what factors into deciding to trade a first-round pick and if the caliber of the draft class factors in
“Well you do look at that. You look at the caliber of the free agent class. You look at the caliber of the draft class, ‘Who can we get at 30 within the draft class?’ Then you factor in the cap and the finances, not just this year, but down the road. The fact that he [WR Jaylen Waddle] is 27 years old. The fact that it was 30—it wasn’t 16. We compared it to all the other trades the last 10 years with the first-round pick. The value we felt was 26, and that’s the value we gave them. You look at all of that when you make a trade like this. No one loves picks more than me, so that’s hard. (Laughs) I’ve probably traded too many darn it, but I think it’s worked out.”
On how close they were to getting a deal done with the Dolphins for WR Jaylen Waddle at the trade deadline
“I wouldn’t say it was real close. I think they kind of stuck to their guns. I give them a lot of credit, and really [Dolphins General Manager] Jon-Eric [Sullivan], a first-time GM [was] a total pro the way he handled everything. So it worked out.”
On if their thinking changed about sacrificing draft capital between the trade deadline and this offseason
“You kind of knew where we were… We know it’s [Pick] 30 now. In late October [or] November, we didn’t know where it would be. We were healthy at receiver. We were unhealthy towards the end of the season. So we liked our group. We were on a win streak. We were rolling pretty good, and it was high. They were asking a lot at that time. The more you think about it, the more you go through all your different models. Like I said, cap, and draft picks, and who’s available in the draft, free agency, all of that. ‘Who could really help us, our team?’ It had to be a unique circumstance for us to do this, to make a trade like this. We just felt like this was too unique to pass up.”
Under the radar
This was definitely under the radar, but if you are local this will matter. They will be expanding capacity at training camp by 2x. Good news for fans!
The FEED happenings
MHR member, ohiobrave2, dug into the X’s and O’s of the Jaylen Waddle addition and how it might change the offense. Good stuff here.
Post your own thoughts on MHR’s Feed.
Bo Nix
Let’s rank Bo Nix right now.
And make non-Broncos fans angry about it.
Prognosticators continue fade Bo Nix, but they are idiots — yes, idiots. Suggesting Nix is the 18th best quarterback in the league is about the dumbest thing I’ve read all year. If you twisted my arm and asked me which quarterbacks would I take over Bo right now, it would not come anywhere near 17 other dudes. In fact, let’s find out:
- Josh Allen
Wow, that’s it. Matthew Stafford is entering the retirement timeline, and LOL at Dak Prescott and Drake Maye as 3rd and 4th. Patrick Mahomes could be good, but he hasn’t been all that good lately.
That left just Josh Allen out of all the other quarterbacks on that list I linked to. He’s entering his prime QB years and will likely continue to terrorize NFL defenses. If the Buffalo Bills could find some weapons, he’d be winning Tom Brady numbers of Super Bowls.
However, I’d probably still take Bo Nix. The national prognosticators will continue to overlook him, because he doesn’t wow you statistically. But those of us who watch every game remember how Nix played when it was do-or-die mode. Not since John Elway or Peyton Manning (or that one time with Tim Tebow) have I felt supremely confident that the Broncos would find a way to get a first down or score before time ran out than I do with Bo freaking Nix.
Give me that competitive fire over all the stats… though mark my words, those stats are going to start making waves soon.
Which quarterbacks in the NFL, if any, would you rather have leading the Denver Broncos over Bo Nix?
