Only in the upside-down world of NFL quarterbacks can a 24-year-old rookie be labeled “old.”

Some draft-watchers were surprised when the Denver Broncos used the No. 12 overall pick to select former Oregon Ducks’ star quarterback Bo Nix. There were concerns about Nix’s age entering the league.

Nix is 24. In comparison, Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick, is 22. No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels is 23 and No. 3 pick Drake Maye is 21.

Nix’s critics say his potential ceiling is significantly lower than the top-three picks because he is older, reasoning that he won’t get much better than he is at this point while the others have more room for growth.

Denver general manager George Paton has a very different take on Nix’s age and experience — he started a combined 61 games at Auburn and Oregon during his career. Paton said he thinks Nix will be more ready to play in the league than most of his peers in the draft.

“You look at it, it’s hard because this is new, but 24 years old is not that old for football,” Paton told Mike Klis of 9News in Denver. “You evaluate it, but you’re really evaluating the player, you’re evaluating the person. Evaluate how they fit in with the organization, especially for a quarterback.

“To me, the age, they’re going to be more, especially with a guy like Bo Nix, 61 starts, we feel like he’ll be more game-ready than if we were going to draft a 21-year-old.”

Paton and head coach Sean Payton have a lot riding on Nix.

The Broncos’ quarterback room has been unsettled since Peyton Manning retired in 2015. They have shuttled through 12 different starting quarterbacks since then, going from, among others, Trevor Semian to Brock Osweiler to Russell Wilson to Jarrett Stidham. Throughout the merry-go-round, the Broncos have failed to earn a playoff berth in eight consecutive seasons.

Paton and Payton knew Nix was their guy after conducting a private workout with the quarterback in Eugene in March.

“We went to the private workout and spent three hours with Bo in the meeting setting and he was outstanding,” Paton told Klis. “And we go out to the field and he made 10, 15 throws and Sean came up to me and said, ‘This is the guy.’

“And I said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a whole process to go through.’ But he was really the target from then on.”

Nix was one of eight Oregon Ducks drafted this past weekend, a new program record. The Broncos also selected Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin in the fourth round with the 102nd pick. Franklin was one of Nix’s favorite targets at Oregon.

An all-Pac-12 first-team selection and consensus second-team all-American, Franklin put together the best season ever by an Oregon wide receiver in 2023. He set program single-season records for receiving yards (1,383), receiving touchdowns (14) and 100-yard receiving games (8).