Mile High Report
Bo Nix’s career might have started off slow, but his progress and play over the past few weeks have made him a legitimate Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate.
When the Denver Broncos drafted Bo Nix with the 12th selection in the 2024 NFL Draft it signaled a new era in the Mile High City.
Most fans across Broncos Country were cautiously optimistic about his ability to become a franchise caliber quarterback. However, many definitely had their reservations. First and foremost, it’s hard to expect rookies to look great out of the gate. Especially one on a team with a historic amount of dead cap and a young roster filled with players who lacked pro experience.
On top of that, everyone knows Head Coach Sean Payton’s offensive system is one of the most complex in the league. With that in mind, it was always reasonable to believe it would take time for things to click—regardless of how you felt about his skill set and tools to succeed in the National Football League.
In his first three games, Nix struggled as most rookies do. He didn’t throw any touchdown passes and had four interceptions. There was little accuracy on throws down the field and hitting targets over the middle of the field just wasn’t happening. Truth be told, there were a lot of deer in the headlight moments, but there were also glimpses the Broncos had something in Nix.
With each week that passed Nix kept getting better and better. He was reading the field better, the game was slowing down, and he demonstrated a gamer mentality and confidence that wasn’t shaken by adversity. He looked wise beyond his years and his extensive collegiate experience was beginning to show itself on a weekly basis.
Since the fourth game of the season, things have been trending upward for the rookie quarterback. In fact, he hasn’t played like a rookie much at all but a seasoned and savvy veteran. In that time span, Nix has completed 66-percent of his passes, thrown for 1,675 yards and 14 touchdowns, scampered for two rushing touchdowns, and even has a receiving touchdown on his resume.
Today’s four touchdown performance and 300-yard effort against the Atlanta Falcons will officially put him on the map for Offensive Rookie of the Year Honors. He will most certainly win a second-straight Rookie of the Week honor. Those who thought Jayden Daniels was an automatic shoe-in for the award might want to rethink that stance. The numbers are a lot closer than you’d believe given the praise Daniels has gotten from all over the media.
To date, Nix leads all rookie quarterbacks with 14 passing touchdowns on the season. He is also tied with Jayden Daniels for the most rushing touchdowns with 4. Daniels has the edge in passing yards, but only by 63. That’s not much at all. There are still a handful of games left to play that will ultimately decide how things wind up panning out. But nevertheless, Broncos...
