Broncos training camp preview: Who's the starting QB?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos open training camp Tuesday, with veterans reporting at Broncos Park Powered by Common Spirit. They enter the season with the second-longest playoff drought in the NFL, having not made the postseason since their Super Bowl 50 triumph following the 2015 season.

Here's a closer look at a few storylines:

Biggest question: Who will be the starting quarterback?

If you're trying to pick the day when Broncos coach Sean Payton might start to roll his eyes at repeated questions about the team's quarterback situation , select one during the first week of camp. Because it's all anyone wants to talk about in Denver right now.

Until Payton decides to reveal his QB1 pick to the world, it will be the most asked and most important question for the Broncos. Most believe Payton will choose rookie first-round pick Bo Nix as the starter, as the coach has consistently lauded Nix's maturity, experience and accuracy throughout the offseason program. Payton was far more effusive in his public praise of Nix -- who threw 45 touchdown passes and three interceptions last season at Oregon -- than the other starting QB candidates during OTAs and minicamp.

Zach Wilson , a former No. 2 overall pick who was acquired in an April trade with the New York Jets , and Jarrett Stidham , who started the last two games of the 2023 season after Russell Wilson was benched , split first-team reps with Nix during the offseason program and minicamp.

Whoever Payton picks will be the 13th quarterback to start a game -- the 14th player overall -- for the Broncos since the start of the 2016 season. Running back Phillip Lindsay started a game during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when the Broncos didn't have any quarterbacks available due to COVID protocols. That quarterback merry-go-round also started, not coincidentally, at the same time as the Broncos' current eight-year playoff drought.

Most compelling position battle, non-quarterback division: Cornerback

The quarterback competition will suck the oxygen from most of the other things going on, but the Broncos have a significant decision to make at cornerback opposite Pat Surtain II because of the high-traffic nature of the position.

In the mix are Riley Moss (2023 third-round pick who played only a handful of plays on defense as a rookie), Levi Wallace (signed this offseason), Damarri Mathis and rookie Kris Abrams-Draine . Moss and Wallace split most of the work with the starters during the offseason program, while Mathis started the first six games last season before being benched.

Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has said he needs to see someone who can "work through [the] adversity" that comes with being the first choice of opposing quarterbacks who are trying to avoid throwing at Surtain.

While Moss played only 23 snaps on defense last season, he has the physical traits the Broncos want at the position (6-foot and 193 pounds with a 4.45-second 40-yard dash time from the 2023 combine) along with the confidence needed for the job.

Fiercest fantasy-relevant battle: Running back

Two of the toughest Broncos predictions to make this season involve whether Payton will stick to an offseason desire to run the ball more " efficiently ," especially in the red zone, and the player who might get those red zone carries.

The Broncos had one of the worst goal-to-go offenses in the league last season, ranking 30th in touchdown rate on such drives (53.3%), and Payton promised to devote plenty of time to fix that problem. He has also said he thinks part of the repair will involve how and when he'll call running plays in those situations. Whether he carries that out completely remains to be seen, but there are questions about who will shoulder the load at running back.

Javonte Williams , who suffered a horrific knee injury in Week 4 of the 2022 season, looked far better in the offseason program than he did at the end of the 2023 season. The Broncos have said they plan to add fifth-round rookie Audric Estime to the mix. Jaleel McLaughlin is still the primary change-of-pace back despite undrafted rookie Blake Watson flashing at times in OTAs and minicamp.

How the Broncos divvy up the carries between Williams, Estime, McLaughlin and Watson this preseason bears watching.

Uncharted territory: How will Payton react to the ups and downs that come with a rookie QB?

Even some who have worked with or played for Payton in his long run as a head coach have no clue how his dealings with Nix will unfold.

Nix, who was the sixth quarterback selected when Broncos took him at No. 12 overall, is the first QB that a Payton-coached team has selected prior to the third round, dating to 2006. Payton has also never had a quarterback competition that included a rookie, nor has he ever dealt with the inevitable growing pains of having a first-year quarterback in his starting lineup. A look at Payton's sideline meltdown toward Russell Wilson in Detroit last season begs the question of how he'd deal with Nix in a similarly anxious situation.

Payton has said he believes Nix possesses the maturity to be coached hard, but Payton's head-coaching career could embark on new territory if he selects the rookie to be Denver's starting QB.