{"id":690366,"date":"2026-03-31T18:40:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/690366\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T18:40:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:40:37","slug":"bo-nix-jonah-elliss-and-more-broncos-takeaways-from-nfl-owners-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/690366\/","title":{"rendered":"Bo Nix, Jonah Elliss and more Broncos takeaways from NFL owners meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 Sean Payton hates the term run it back and loves his running backs.<\/p>\n

He played it slow during the first week of free agency<\/a>, then got fast in a hurry by completing a blockbuster trade for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Payton and the Broncos have spent more than a year prioritizing retention, but he insists that assuming anything from 2025 will be the same in 2026 is folly.<\/p>\n

This is the challenge of arriving on the doorstep of a Super Bowl<\/a> only to come up short. What you did worked well, but not well enough. Ifs and buts are easy to come by, especially after quarterback Bo Nix broke his ankle in overtime of the AFC\u2019s divisional round<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Change for change\u2019s sake doesn\u2019t make sense, but neither does stasis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe better you get, the harder it is to improve your team,\u201d Payton said Tuesday at the NFL\u2019s annual spring meeting.<\/p>\n

He spoke and answered questions from that unique perch: Well-situated as a contender with a quarterback in the midst of his rookie contract and also warding off any notion of complacency.<\/p>\n

Here are five takeaways from Payton\u2019s 27 minutes with reporters:<\/p>\n

\"HeadHead coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos speaks to Bo Nix (10) after a failed third-down conversion during the third quarter at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)
\nThe Broncos know the stakes of having QB Bo Nix in his rookie contract window<\/p>\n

What Payton said: \u201cEveryone would say, \u2018Hey, you\u2019ve got Bo on his rookie deal.\u2019 Well, no kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n

What it means: Teams with talented young quarterbacks who are still cheap are in the best position to build a complete roster. There\u2019s really no way around that fact. Nix is entering his third professional season and will play with a cap charge just a shade above $5 million.<\/p>\n

The implication of what Payton said is that he senses an external notion that perhaps the Broncos didn\u2019t get aggressive enough to build around Nix in the midst of this window.<\/p>\n

The PG-rated version of his response: Baloney.<\/p>\n

In his mind, though, the Broncos had already done much of their building when free agency opened in early March.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what the 10 contract extensions over the preceding 18 months were about. That\u2019s what the last-minute run of deals for unheralded-yet-important pieces like Alex Palczewski, Justin Strnad, Alex Singleton, and Adam Trautman were about.<\/p>\n

Payton chided anybody who cast the offseason as wasted before Denver swung the trade for Waddle.<\/p>\n

The numbers mostly back Payton up<\/a>. The Broncos retained virtually every core member of their offense and defense.\u00a0Denver,\u00a0according to OvertheCap data<\/a>, is in the middle of the pack in cap space (No. 19 at $18.8 million) but ranks seventh in active cap spending.\u00a0Only Seattle has less dead cap than Denver.<\/p>\n

The Broncos have loaded up the roster; they are just betting that doing so with their own players is the better path to the Lombardi Trophy than bringing in extensive outside help.<\/p>\n

\"JaylenJaylen Waddle of the Miami Dolphins reacts during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium on December 21, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato\/Getty Images)
\nJaylen Waddle can be a force multiplier in multiple ways<\/p>\n

What Payton said: \u201cWhenever you get into a big-name free agent or a trade of this magnitude, the all-the-other-stuff is important research. When it comes to Waddle\u2019s all-the-other-stuff, it was 10, 10, 10, 10. Obviously, he will help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

What it means: Waddle is a really good player. That much is obvious. The Broncos traded the rough equivalent of a first and a fourth-round pick for him<\/a> because they think they\u2019re acquiring much more than that.<\/p>\n

Start with what Payton refers to as the \u201call-the-other-stuff.\u201d Payton got glowing reviews on the receiver from former quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, one of the coach\u2019s favorite former players and a trusted resource, as well as legendary former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Broncos corner Pat Surtain II and more. Payton calls certain players \u201cforce multipliers\u201d in the locker room. Running back J.K. Dobbins is one. Defensive lineman Malcolm Roach is another. So, too, is Courtland Sutton. Denver thinks Waddle can be that, too.<\/p>\n

He should have a similarly broad impact on the field. Payton said Waddle can play inside and outside and referred to his route tree as \u201cextensive.\u201d The coach\u2019s favorite part about his new pass-catcher\u2019s skill set: \u201cHe\u2019s extremely fast and he stops fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the kind of player who can not only make an impact on his own \u2014 the Broncos wanted a high-caliber route-runner and believe Waddle is that \u2014 but who can also make life easier for the other receivers and Denver\u2019s running game, too.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s the kind of player who can improve a team even when a team is good enough, as Payton said, where improving becomes a more difficult challenge. That, ultimately, is why the Broncos paid the price for Waddle. He checks every box they set out to find.<\/p>\n

\"JonahJonah Elliss (52), Adam Prentice (46) and Jordan Turner (55) of the Denver Broncos team up to stop Jaret Patterson (32) of the Los Angeles Chargers during the third quarter at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)
\nA creative option at inside linebacker \u2014 and a breakout candidate on the edge<\/p>\n

What Payton said: \u201cYou\u2019re going to see (Jonah) Elliss take some snaps inside. That\u2019s something we\u2019ve discussed relative to our depth on the edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

What it means: Perhaps the single most interesting personnel note from Payton is an impending position change for Denver\u2019s third-year defender. Time will tell if the move sticks, but it says as much about another player on the roster as it does about Elliss himself.<\/p>\n

This, in some ways, is a Que Robinson move. The Broncos think they might have stolen a really good player in the fourth round of the 2025 draft in Robinson, who is long, strong, plays tough against the run on the edge, but also has real pass-rush juice.<\/p>\n

Robinson, though, was often a gameday inactive as a rookie behind Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Elliss and Dondrea Tillman. They\u2019re all back for 2026. So perhaps Elliss can provide some quality play on the inside and free up time for Robinson in Denver\u2019s OLB rotation.<\/p>\n

Payton called the switch a matter of \u201clooking at your assets\u201d and lauded the skill set of Elliss.<\/p>\n

The head coach noted that two of Elliss\u2019 brothers, Kaden and Christian, have played in the middle of the field, and also that Zach Baun flourished in Philadelphia when he moved to the middle of the field.<\/p>\n

If Denver gets anything resembling that kind of production, of course, the move will be a home run. At the very least, it\u2019ll be a fascinating project to follow this summer.<\/p>\n

\"HeadHead coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos works during the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)
\nBreaking news: The Broncos coach is not the warm and fuzzy type<\/p>\n

What Payton said: \u201cI don\u2019t have anything warm and fuzzy in my golf bag. Except my towel.\u201d<\/p>\n

What it means: Payton was asked, essentially, if he could occasionally play the good cop with Nix or anybody else. He dropped one of his funniest lines of the day in response.<\/p>\n

In more practical terms, though, Payton made an interesting comment in suggesting that Davis Webb\u2019s promotion to offensive coordinator and play-caller<\/a> will likely change the complexion of Webb\u2019s day-to-day relationship with Nix to some degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cBo is in there with (new quarterbacks coach) Logan Kilgore now. Logan will be his warm and fuzzy.<\/p>\n

Now, Davis and myself will be like, \u2018Hey! What are you doing?\u2019<\/p>\n

One of the more fascinating subplots of the 2026 Broncos will be how Payton helps groom Webb as a play-caller. When Payton first took that role under his mentor, Bill Parcells, Parcells was extremely hands-on. Will Payton operate the same way? Will he push Webb to coach Nix in any form or manner differently now that he\u2019s in the coordinator role rather than at the front of the QB room on a daily basis? Does Webb need to do anything differently now that he\u2019s in front of the entire unit rather than one room?<\/p>\n

Webb doesn\u2019t have to have the same approach as Payton had when he was a young play-caller and Payton doesn\u2019t have to have the same approach Parcells did all those years ago. But the similarities in both are readily apparent.<\/p>\n

Sean Payton\u2019s flag football coaching career will not go down as illustrious<\/p>\n

What Payton said: \u201cWell, that was humbling.\u201d<\/p>\n

What it means: Payton coached a bunch of NFL players and former players \u2014 including legendary former quarterback Tom Brady \u2014 against the U.S. national flag football team earlier in March. The tournament was originally supposed to be in Saudi Arabia, but was moved to Los Angeles due to the war in Iran.<\/p>\n

What happened: The NFL guys got their clocks cleaned by the national flag football team. And Payton, who had Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh along as his defensive coordinator, had his eyes opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember the \u2018Home Alone\u2019 series and Macaulay Culkin was inside the house? Well, the national team was Macaulay Culkin and I felt like Harbaugh and I were the two guys outside tripping over the garden hose. It\u2019s an entirely different game. It was cool to be around those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payton left the weekend with a prediction regarding the 2028 Summer Olympics in L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen this was announced, there was this feeling that there would be 10 NFL players on that roster and I\u2019ll be surprised if there\u2019s one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 Sean Payton hates the term run it back and loves his running backs. He played it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[45587,1046,45589,6305,7,10148,2864,86641,301,2863,187,3943,42234,3726,25298,34717,34671,10150,19557,35635,165,251,42241,6324,6,9,36867,19559,302,5744,20405,678,45737,14512,8131,3970,66,13349,40690,15670],"class_list":["post-690366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-nuggets","tag-adam-trautman","tag-alabama","tag-alex-palczewski","tag-alex-singleton","tag-basketball","tag-bo-nix","tag-courtland-sutton","tag-davis-webb","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-denvernuggets","tag-dondrea-tillman","tag-football","tag-iran","tag-j-k-dobbins","tag-jaylen-waddle","tag-jim-harbaugh","tag-jonathon-cooper","tag-justin-strnad","tag-latest-headlines","tag-los-angeles","tag-malcolm-roach","tag-more-broncos-news","tag-nba","tag-nfl","tag-nick-saban","tag-nik-bonitto","tag-nuggets","tag-olympics","tag-pat-surtain-ii","tag-philadelphia","tag-running-backs","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-sean-payton","tag-seattle","tag-sports","tag-super-bowl","tag-teddy-bridgewater","tag-tom-brady"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}