The 2024 NFL Draft was a rare one, as it saw six quarterbacks taken in the first round. The last off the board ended up being Bo Nix, who the Denver Broncos selected sixth overall.
Being the sixth QB taken, not too many people are overly excited about Nix. However, he has all the tools to prove his doubters wrong and take the NFL world by storm.
The first thing that comes to mind when talking about Nix is his maturity level. The 24-year-old spent five years playing collegiate football and has developed at a healthy rate from when he first started in 2019. Nix played for the Auburn Tigers for three years before transferring to the Oregon Ducks in 2022.
Both of his years in 2022 and 2023 were exceptional, as he fit the Ducks’ offensive system perfectly. In two years, he threw for over 8,000 yards with 74 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. While all that was in college, Nix has the quality and is ready to take his talent to the next level.
Over the course of his five-year collegiate football career, Nix has learned consistency is the key. He also displays a range of arm talent, athleticism, and accuracy at par with most NFL quarterbacks in the league today. Furthermore, he has a great ability to avoid sacks by moving around in the pocket and can extend plays.
Nix is not the traditional pocket passer and has demonstrated his capacity to scramble for quick first downs and run with the ball should the play break down. His dual-threat capacity can be evidenced by the fact that he scored 38 rushing touchdowns in college.
Up until this point, we have discussed the strengths of Nix and how he fared before joining the NFL. Now that the former Oregon quarterback is with the Broncos, he will be in good hands under Sean Payton.
The former Saints coach mentored Drew Brees and won a Super Bowl with him, so this could be exactly the match Nix may need to develop into a quality starting QB.
As far as the Broncos are concerned, they have a three-way battle for the starting quarterback role on the team for this year. Along with Nix, the Broncos’ quarterback room consists of fifth-year QB Jarrett Stidham and the newly acquired Zach Wilson from the Jets.
Stidham started his career in New England, but hardly got to play in his three years with the Patriots. In 2022, he moved to Las Vegas, but couldn’t do much with the limited time there, as well. Last year, he joined the Broncos and is now fighting for his chance to start.
As for Wilson, his career with the Jets never took off despite being the No. 2 overall pick in 2021.
This means Nix has a great chance of becoming the Week 1 starter for Denver, and things are looking good on that front. Recently, head coach Payton has revealed that Nix made some pretty good decisions during the rookie minicamp and was rather boring to watch. Loosely translated, it means that Nix was doing most of the things the right way and taking what the defense gave him.
What the Broncos’ head coach is looking for is someone who can stay in the structure and not try to make something happen all the time. Thus, the combination of Payton and Nix could very well lead Denver back to their glory days.
The recipe is all there for Nix to succeed at the highest level of the sport, and at the moment, the sky is the limit. There is every chance that Bo Nix can be a quality starting quarterback in the league for years to come.
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