ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Right now, the order of reps only means so much.
Head Coach Sean Payton said the Broncos are rotating Jarrett Stidham, Zach Wilson and Bo Nix through first-team reps, but he cautioned against reading too much into which player takes which snaps.
"We try to split up all the reps," Payton said Thursday of rep allocation at all positions. "So there is going to be a time where you read into the reps. I don't think it's early in OTAs."
Payton did share that he Broncos allocated a day of first-team reps to each quarterback, with Stidham taking them on Tuesday, Wilson getting his turn on Wednesday and Nix closing the week with the first team on Thursday.
"Look, we go by what we see," Payton said. "We try to get them as many reps as possible. We're rotating all of them right now. … We'll keep doing that right now."
Payton said the Broncos' quarterback group is a "good room," and he said the three players are "all in a race to learn this system" in Denver.
Payton acknowledged the three quarterbacks all come from different situations, with only Stidham returning from last year's roster. Stidham said he's "way more comfortable" in the offense than he was in 2023, and he emphasized that he'll continue to compete despite the additions of Wilson and Nix.
"I've dealt with this before when I was in New England with Mac Jones," Stidham said. "It's a business and I totally understand it, but at the same time, I'm here to compete. I'm not going to just sit down and let someone else walk in here and [just take the role]. I'm going to work my butt off to get the job. I'm super excited about it."
Wilson also said he looks forward to the "opportunity to compete," and he believes a "fresh start is good" as he moves on from the New York Jets. Wilson said he'll aim to "attack the new challenge" and will lean on his reps he banked during his previous starting experience.
"I need to be consistent every single day," Wilson said. "Understanding the offense, understanding what I'm asked to do, taking care of the football and how quickly I can get the ball out of my hands to some of the playmakers that we have, too."
Payton said Wilson has picked up the offense "pretty quickly" and has evident arm strength.
As Nix makes a case of his own, Payton said he's also done a good job picking up the offense as he integrates in with the veterans on the roster.
"He's further along than most," Payton said. "We're talking about a player who has played 61 [college] games. He's extremely smart. He's picked it up very quickly."
The Broncos remain early in the OTA process, but Payton was pleased with the performance Thursday of all three players.
"I would say — you guys watched the practice — [that] they're doing well," Payton said.
