Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders got the nod from the AP voters to win the prestigious NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award on Thursday night. Credit goes to Daniels for putting together a thrilling rookie season.
The 22-year-old receiving 49 out of 50 first-place votes tells its own compelling story. Meanwhile, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix finished with the third-most votes in the ORoY sweepstakes, raising eyebrows across the Rocky Mountains.
Disappointing though that was, Sean Payton is just happy to finally get his guy, and what a difference Nix made for Denver in Year 1. We all know the stories of how Payton fell in love with Nix shortly into a private pre-draft throwing session. After locking in on Nix on a private workout on the Oregon practice field, Payton was smitten enough to get panic-stricken heading into the draft last spring when rumors began to fly of a potential trade-up.
Obsessing over scenarios where Nix would be headed elsewhere was very real to Payton. That led to Payton throwing a curveball by leaking to the media that he was enamored with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Deploying some tradecraft tactics didn't stop there. Somewhere along the pre-draft path, Payton picked up a piece of intel claiming the Los Angeles Rams were looking to trade up to get in front of the Broncos at No. 12 overall to land Nix.
Payton was "convinced" the Rams were trying to get in front of Denver. According to FOX Sports' Jay Glazer, Payton was only put at ease that Nix would fall to the Broncos at No. 12 overall after the insider received direct confirmation from Sean McVay that the Rams weren't trying to trade up for the Oregon Ducks star.
"I literally called Sean McVay. I said, 'Can I let Sean Payton know that you're not trading up because this dude ain't gonna sleep for the next five days and he's driving me crazy?'" Glazer said via KOARadio. "Then finally, he [Payton] kept calling and like two days earlier, I said, 'Hey dude, McVay has allowed me to tell you they are not trading up for him [Nix], you're good, you're golden. But he loved him that much."
It's important to keep in mind that Payton and Glazer are longstanding good friends. And for a year, they were colleagues at FOX Sports right before Payton opted to return to the head-coaching ranks in 2023. In other words, it's safe to believe what Glazer is saying, and also that he has his friend's (Payton) best interest in mind.
Payton ultimately got his guy, and Nix immediately altered the Broncos' trajectory. As Glazer said, Payton is a "culture changer," and the missing piece to enacting that sea change at Broncos HQ was the lynchpin quarterback.
Payton is as confident as ever that Nix is the guy to lead the Broncos out of the NFL desert.
"I know this: He's very conscientious," Payton said about Nix just after the Broncos season concluded. "He comes in. He spends a lot of time here. He was here in my office for half an hour yesterday. I think it's all in front of him. I've said this before -- I think we've found that player that can lead us and be what we need relative to having the success we're used to having. I think we've found it."
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