Horse Tracks: Payton thrilled to ‘not be in the quarterback market’ this offseason

At the NFL Owner’s meeting, Sean Payton discussed his team’s moves in free agency as well as a few very slight hints about the upcoming Draft.

Good morning, Broncos Country!

At the NFL Owners’ Meeting this week, it was quite clear that the Broncos’ brass is feeling a little less pressure this offseason.

No. 1 because they don’t have to find or draft a QB1 this year.

No. 2 because the QB they did find and draft turned out to be a huge rookie success.

“I appreciate not being in that quarterback market. That’s difficult,” head coach Sean Payton admitted during his presser. “Obviously there’s a lot of pressure to get that right. When you don’t have it right, it’s one of those positions where it can kind of consume you as an organization. Fortunately a year ago this time, we were able to do that.”

Payton added that best part of this offseason has been having the starting quarterback “in the building.” Because the worst part is when you don’t have him in the building at this point in the season — and you are most likely relying on the Draft to get him.

But that doesn’t mean everyone can relax, least of all Nix.

“Going into Year 2, I think it’s making sure that you’re not running again—there’s a process that you have to respect and understand and not assume,” Payton said, adding there are still plenty of things for Bo Nix to improve upon.

But there are also things that Payton and the coaching staff can improve around him. Specifically beefing up the “interior triangle” positions — the running back, the tight end and the third wideout.

Payton explained that Nix got a lot of looks from defenses last year that necessitated attacking the middle. Having a smart, experienced veteran like Evan Engram in there undoubtedly helps a young QB.

“We’ve talked about it for two years now, the interior triangle of your passing game [is] the tight end, the running back and the third receiver,” Payton said. “When you’re seeing a lot of these coverage shell looks, those positions have to thrive.”

And Payton isn’t worried about Engram.

“This guy is something. Super smart,” Payton said. “The minute I felt like he was available, it was just, ‘Where’s Evan at this year?’”

Where he hopes Engram will be this season is in the red zone and end zone.

“He’s someone that we feel like can run and give us a passing threat on third down and [in the] red zone,” Payton said.

But of course, it’s not all on the guys around him. The now-former rookie QB also needs to show up big in his second year. As does the QB coaching staff that will need to help Nix make a big leap to his sophomore campaign.

“So there’s a lot of little things still that Bo will want to be better at, that we need to be better at coaching,” Patyon said. “Fortunately, he has that make up, that grit, that toughness, all those things that you look for.”

It’s becoming a lot clearer just what “those things” are to Payton — things he considers non-negotiables that portray a player’s hear.

“Well it’s up there. It’s up there with football IQ,” Payton said of player durability. “It’s an extremely physical game, and at some point, there’s a team that takes it more than they give it each week. So it’s important to be not only physically tough, but mentally tough-minded players.”

What else is up there is talent and leadership.

“We brought in some really good players — good people and good leaders,” Payton added.

Some other highlights from the meeting:

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