Mile High Report
Taking a look at the Broncos 2024 rookie class and grading their rookie year this past season. Today, we look at first round pick, quarterback Bo Nix.
With the 12th overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected Oregon quarterback Bo Nix. He was the sixth and final quarterback to go in the first round, and analysts and various media members immediately criticized the Broncos’ selection.
Nix was a “reach”, he was “too old”, didn’t have the arm strength, and played in a friendly college offense that would not translate to the NFL. Despite that, Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton was confident in his evaluation skills and he felt as strongly about Bo Nix as he did Mahomes
His confidence in Nix continued to rise as the rookie aced training camp and the preseason while earning the starting job for week 1. It started slow for Nix who would throw 4 interceptions in his first two games and did not record his first passing touchdown until the second half of a rainy week 4 game vs. the Jets. However, things would quickly change for Nix and the Broncos from that point on as he would turn the corner and put together an excellent rookie season.
He finished the season with 3,775 yards passing, 29 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, completed 66.3% of his passes, had a quarterback rating of 93.3. and a QBR of 57.2. He also had 430 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns, and 1 reception for 2 yards and 1 touchdown.
His 29 passing touchdowns rank second all-time for a rookie quarterback and only trails Justin Herbert who had 31 in his rookie season. That is two more than third-place Baker Mayfield who had 27, three more than Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning who had 26, and 4 more than Jayden Daniels who is considered the favorite for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
On the season, only Joe Burrow(43), Baker Mayfield(41), Lamar Jackson(41), Jared Goff(37), and Sam Darnold(35) had more passing touchdowns than Nix who had 29. When you break it down by conference, Nix had the 3rd most passing touchdowns in the AFC and had more than Josh Allen(28), Patrick Mahomes(26), and Justin Herbert(23) all of whom are considered the top quarterbacks in the league.
Bo Nix ended up being everything and more that head coach Sean Payton wanted from his rookie quarterback. He proved he could be a high-level passer in the NFL, emerged as a running threat, put the Broncos on his back, and carried them into the postseason.
On top of that, his leadership was evident from day one and he quickly won over the veterans in the locker room. Then, he showcased his toughness when he played through a broken back during the Broncos postseason push in the second half of the season.
He did all this with no running game, no receiving threat at tight end, and a below-average receiving unit to work with. Jayden Daniels...
