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The Denver Broncos won the AFC West for the first time since their Super Bowl run in 2015. And Denver can secure the No. 1 seed with a win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18. The Broncos have now reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after drafting Bo Nix in 2024.
Nix appears to have solved Denver’s decade-long quarterback conundrum. And John Elway credits Sean Payton for developing the second-year passer. However, the Broncos could have improved their QB situation by drafting Josh Allen back in 2018. But Elway, who ran Denver’s front office at the time, passed on the future MVP in a move he regrets – and blames on the coaching staff.
“I really liked [Allen]. But the problem is, the way that I worked, I wanted buy-in from the coaching staff and I couldn’t get the buy-in from the coaching staff. I couldn’t get everybody on the same page with it,” Elway explained on Club Shay Shay. “When I say I regret it, it’s because I didn’t overrule everybody and say, ‘I’m taking him. I’m taking him because now it’s up to you to make him good.’”
According to Elway, former Broncos head coach (and current defensive coordinator) Vance Joseph preferred Bradley Chubb. And the team ended up drafting the Pro Bowl pass rusher fifth overall. Allen then fell to the Buffalo Bills at No. 7. The Broncos traded Chubb to the Miami Dolphins in 2022 and Denver remained stuck in quarterback purgatory for another six years.
“I love him now [but] when he was coming out he wasn’t perfect,” Elway said of his decision to pass on Allen. “He was very, very raw, right? And you know his accuracy was the biggest question. He was athletic as hell, big, strong, competitive and all those type of things. But you know that was the one question.”
The Broncos cleaned house after the 2018 season. The team fired Joseph and new head coach Vic Fangio chose not to retain offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan.
Elway ended a 10-year run as the Broncos’ GM/president of football operations in 2021. He stuck around as a consultant for one last season in 2022. George Paton replaced Elway as Denver’s GM and the team finally solved its long-standing QB problem by selecting Nix in the 2024 draft.
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