There he was on draft day, a Heisman finalist, a 61-game starter, polished in a face-of-the-franchise mode that NFL owners flock to, and yet Bo Nix was the cross-stitch ostrich on the White Elephant Christmas Party.

Interesting enough to command a look, compelling in its own way to study closely and perhaps even ideal in the right setting.

When analysts’ pre-draft estimates didn’t place Nix in the second or third round, Broncos general manager George Paton knew Denver would have at least a chance to select the Oregon quarterback, who not many experts had pegged for a higher career path had that from Andy Dalton, Ryan Tannehill or, gasp, Jake Locker.

Denver admits it shopped on budget, with affordability dictated in part by a failed bid to fill its QB spot with Russell Wilson. He will deduct more than $80 million from the Broncos’ cap over the next two years combined. And when NFL think tanks argued a week before the draft that Paton and Sean Payton would persuade the Rockies to sign Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy, they put on their shades and grinned.

As QB prospects do, Payton admired several players in the 2024 draft, and no one would suspect that if the Broncos had been lucky enough, he wouldn’t have cocked his head to the side like a golden retriever who was offered Prime Rib instead of Purina , Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels.

But after an extensive review of more than 20 college games and further film study with Paton, the Broncos sent a contingent to Nix’s pro day. They arrived early, sat at the front of the class and watched each throw, clarifying what had been recorded in minute detail in a scouting report. Three more hours with Nix after pro day when Payton told him he was looking at the 13th starting quarterback for the Broncos since Peyton Manning retired.

“That’s the guy,” Paton remembered Payton saying at the time.

And nothing changed when Nix put on the helmet in minicamp. There were days when he looked like a newbie. But nights of watching practice films and poring over the playbook to find answers and solutions almost always followed. He shares Payton’s process-oriented growth and eschews the quick-fix fixes that are available when plays go wrong, as they do with rookies.

Paton was aware that there were teams that felt it was detrimental to Nix that he was 24 as a rookie, as his peak was approaching and the time to grow and develop might be shorter. Denver changed perspective and felt age and experience would be a huge boon for the Broncos.

The Broncos’ first rookie quarterback to be named captain since John Elway thrived as the right-hand man of an underrated defense for a Denver team currently in the AFC playoffs. His consistency has endeared him to teammates and coaches. Opponents who once felt he might just be a stopgap while the Broncos balance their checkbook post-Wilson are taking another look.

Payton said the most impressive things about the rookie were his ever-present calmness and the intense concentration with which he avoided turnovers. Nix has three consecutive games with 200 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, marking the longest rookie streak since 1970. But as with his multiple Rookie of the Month honors, Nix takes all the accolades in stride and pushes ahead toward bigger goals like he’s checking off his first primetime game.

“That’s great and why you play this sport. That’s why you play the game and what you dream about for the NFL,” Nix said of Monday night’s game against the Browns. “Every week you feel like you’re playing against one of the best. It’s just about how good the league is and how outstanding the talent is. We can only worry about ourselves. We just have to focus and execute. We can’t let people like that beat us and have a career game. We just have to focus on the little things, execute the play and the details and get back to basics.”

In Nix’s last game, he helped Denver defeat the Raiders, and a game before that he completed 28 of 33 passes for 307 yards with four touchdowns. Last week, he enjoyed the farewell by constantly sending Payton messages about what he would like to see on the schedule. With just one interception in his last five games, Nix’s voice is no longer that of a rookie.

The ostrich days in Denver are over.