The Denver Broncos may not take a slow and steady approach with Bo Nix before making him their starting quarterback.

Per ESPN's Jeff Legwold, "many" personnel executives around the NFL believe Nix will be Denver's starter in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Coming out of the draft in April, Nix was splitting first-team reps with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson. Head coach Sean Payton said this week that would continue during training camp, but did note they would start to give one player more of the reps because they need to be ready for the start of the regular season.

"We'll mix it up again," Payton said. "Obviously it won't stay that way for the long term, but as we get started we'll keep you posted and eventually we'll settle into the routine we want."

Nix got most of the first-team reps during Thursday's practice after Stidham had that role on Wednesday.

ESPN's Adam Schefter said after the Oregon star was drafted with the No. 12 overall pick that the Broncos head coach felt "as strongly" about Nix as he did about Patrick Mahomes in 2017 when he tried to draft him.

If that's the expectation Payton has, the bar is set at the highest possible level for Nix before he's taken one snap.

Nix might be the most experienced college quarterback to ever enter the NFL. He was a five-year starter between Auburn and Oregon from 2019 to 2023. The 24-year-old set the NCAA record for most career starts by a quarterback and threw 1,936 passes in 61 games.

Stidham is entering his second season with the Broncos after signing a two-year, $10 million contract in March 2023. He threw for 496 yards and two touchdowns in two starts at the end of last season after Russell Wilson was benched.

The Broncos took a flier on Wilson by trading a sixth-round draft choice to the New York Jets for the former No. 2 overall pick.

If Nix does win the No. 1 job in Denver, it will mark the first time Payton has had a rookie starter at quarterback not due to an injury. Ian Book started one game for the New Orleans Saints in 2021 because Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian were unavailable.