Sean Payton Drops Surprising Comparison for QB E.J. Warner

The Denver Broncos invited two quarterbacks to compete at rookie minicamp this weekend on a tryout basis. One is Nathan Peterman, a multi-year veteran who spent 2025 out of football, which qualifies him to try out at a rookie minicamp.

The other is undrafted rookie E.J. Warner. The son of Hall-of-Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, E.J. went undrafted out of Fresno State last month and spent some time at the Kansas City Chiefs' rookie minicamp before finding himself in Denver.

Will Warner's trip to Denver last beyond this weekend? Time will tell, but Broncos head coach Sean Payton said some great things about Warner on Saturday, comparing him to one of his former quarterback charges in New Orleans.

"This Warner reminds me a lot of [former NFL QB] Chase Daniel. If you see his height, weight, size, speed, they’re very similar," Payton said of Warner. "He’s done a nice job. He’s done a very nice job and especially considering he’s coming off a weekend with different terminology, and he’s kind of yawned at it. It’s been real quick for him.”

Daniel also went undrafted out of Mizzou back in 2009. He broke into the NFL through Payton's New Orleans Saints, earning a roster spot. Daniel stuck around as Drew Brees's backup for the next four years, before going on to forge a long NFL career as a No. 2 quarterback.

Payton's Praise of Warner

It can't be easy being the son of an iconic quarterback, especially as a quarterback. When it comes to the style of Warner senior and junior, Payton said they're very different quarterbacks.

“He’s entirely different," Payton said of E.J. and Kurt. "He’s just really stood out with getting in and out of the huddle. He has a quick release and a good stroke. [He’s a] different type [of] player even. He’s probably more celebrated coming out of Fresno [State] than his dad was coming out of Northern Iowa."

Kurt Warner's path to NFL stardom was about as circuitous as it gets, going from a small school in college, going undrafted, to washing out of Green Bay Packers training camp, to playing in the Arena League, to NFL Europe, to bagging groceries. He finally caught on in St. Louis with the Rams as Trent Green's backup in 1998.

Warner's big shot came in 1999 when Green suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. Then-Rams head coach Dick Vermeil famously said, "We'll rally around Kurt Warner, and we'll play good football." The Greatest Show on Turf was born.

Warner's Optimal Path

Time will tell exactly what path E.J. will take. He didn't hear his name called in the draft, but he's already been invited to ply his trade with two NFL teams. The next step for him is signing to a 90-man offseason roster.

So far, so good for E.J., though. Denver might not be the best place for him to get his foot in the NFL door. Even if the Broncos were to offer him a spot on the offseason roster, it would be very short term, as he'd be the No. 4 guy.

Payton said on Saturday that Bo Nix could take the field in June, either during OTAs or mandatory minicamp, though the team will play it safe. The Broncos may need that extra quarterback to feed reps to the third-teamers if Nix is held out of any of those on-field OTA sessions.

The Broncos have Nix, Jarrett Stidham, and Sam Ehlinger on the roster. Warner would gladly accept the opportunity to sign with the Broncos, but it might not be the ideal place for him in terms of upward mobility.

Just like his dad, though, E.J. has to start somewhere. If he can get signed to the 90-man roster, find a way to stick around through training camp, and get some preseason film on him for the NFL to see, that would be the best-case outcome for him probability-wise in Denver.

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