A day after Broncos rookie Bo Nix was named the starting quarterback for Week 1, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said the 24-year-old earned it.

Praising his ability to navigate within the pocket and use his mobility, Lombardi called Nix a “quick learner” who doesn’t make the same mistake twice.

“He understands what happened the first time, and he corrects it,” Lombardi said after Thursday’s practice. “He loves football. He studies it and learns every rep he gets.”

As an offensive coordinator for the Chargers, Lombardi heard about Nix through quarterback Justin Herbert — a former Duck. When Lombardi finally turned on Nix’s college film, he was impressed.

“You’re like ‘Wait, that’s not what I expected. Let me go back a year (and) let me watch some Auburn film,’” Lombardi said. “Everything I looked at, I liked.”

Nix’s ability to throw the deep ball was one of the concerns coming out of Oregon. Even though he completed 77.4% of his passes for the Ducks in 2023, 38.8% of those attempts were fewer than 10 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, 19.5% of his passes were between 10 and 19 yards, and 10.9% were 20-plus yards because of Oregon’s offensive scheme.

Lombardi, on the other hand, believes Nix can let the ball fly.

“He’s got more arm talent than most people give him credit for,” Lombardi said.

Lombardi said it was hard to break the starting quarterback news to Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham, but both players have handled it like pros and understand the team’s decision.

As Stidham and Wilson continue to battle for the backup spot, Lombardi has been impressed with the latter’s development in recent weeks. Lombardi said Wilson’s accuracy has improved as he has gotten more comfortable with the wide receivers.

Lombardi mentioned that the former New York Jets quarterback wasn’t pleased with his performance against the Green Bay Packers but thought he responded by putting together a pair of “outstanding” practices.

“I think we’d be comfortable with any of them playing quarterback for us,” Lombardi said.

Punter battle remains “close”: The quarterback battle is over, but the punter competition between Riley Dixon and Trenton Gill is ongoing.

“It’s still close,” said special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica. “We plan on both players to get an opportunity in the final preseason game, and then we’ll see how it shakes out from there.”

Against the Packers, Gill punted the ball three times, averaging 48.7 yards per attempt, while Dixon had one attempt for 45 yards. Both players punted the ball inside the 20-yard line.

Wallace, Jones working their way back: Safety Brandon Jones and cornerback Levi Wallace practicing this week has been a pleasant sight for the Broncos.

Both players have missed a good chunk of practice time and were sidelined for the first two preseason games due to hamstring injuries. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said it has been important for Wallace and Jones to be back on the field.

Joseph called Wallace a “super smart” player, so hasn’t been concerned about the former Steelers cornerback falling behind. Joseph said Jones is in a different situation due to playing safety and understanding new play calls.

“Playing football and being in the meeting room is different,” Joseph said. “When guys miss time, it’s critical they get back to the playing field and also off the field, having their studies in check.”

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Originally Published: August 22, 2024 at 3:22 p.m.