Bo Chapman Nix was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 12th Overall Pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and played college football for Auburn from 2019-2021 and then transferred to Oregon where he played from 2022-2023. In 2023 at Oregon, he led the NCAA in pass completions, completion percentage, and passing touchdowns and broke Mac Jones’ record for highest single-season completion percentage as he completed 77.45% of his passes. After the draft, Sean Payton said he “had a conviction” about Bo Nix and believes he is the future of the Denver Broncos, a franchise that has been plagued by quarterback troubles since Peyton Manning’s retirement following their victory in Super Bowl 50.
Week 1 at Seattle: Bust
Result: 20 – 26 L
Passing Stats: 26/42, 138yds (3.3 AVG), 0 TD, 2 INT, 2 Sacks (-6yds), 41.5 QBR, 47.5 RTG
Rushing Stats: 5/35yds (7.0 AVG), 1 TD, 23yd LONG
Despite not having the best statistical debut, Bo Nix had the hardest game out of the three starting rookie quarterbacks. Playing in a packed Lumen Field, the infamous “Home of the 12th Man”, against the defensively-minded Seahawks’ head coach Mike Macdonald, this game was always going to be difficult for the rookie. However, he still managed to keep the game close and winnable until late in the 4th quarter. This game likely would have been better for Nix if the run game had been established better, his receivers didn’t have as many drops, and Sean Payton allowed him to go deep like back at Oregon. However, a bright side for Broncos fans is Nix only took two sacks (which were simply times he stepped out of bounds behind the line, he was never tackled for a sack) in a game where Russell Wilson would likely have taken at least five. Nix also showed he can scramble as he had the longest run out of the other rookie quarterbacks, led the Broncos in rushing, and was clocked as one of the fastest ball carriers of Week 1, which he hopefully will make even more use of in the future.
Week 2 vs. Pittsburgh: Bust
Result: 13 – 6 L
Passing Stats: 20/35, 246yds (7.0 AVG), 0 TD, 2 INT, 2 Sacks (-15yds), 32.4 QBR, 55.2 RTG
Rushing Stats: 4/25yds (6.3 AVG), 0 TD, 13yd LONG
The game was just bad. Both of these teams are much stronger defensively, and it showed. Bo Nix again threw two interceptions and took two sacks, however this time combined for a larger -15 yards. At this point in the season, Nix is still yet to throw a passing touchdown, similar to his rookie quarterback counterparts. However, Nix definitely showed some improvement, increasing his passing average from 3.3 yards to 7yds. On the ground, Nix led the Broncos in rushing for a second time, which shows a glaring issue with the Denver run game. The play calling from Sean Payton is another problem, as most drives (similar to the Seattle game) consisted of run, run, pass, punt. But not all hope is lost in Broncos Country as Bo Nix is still a rookie and is already showing improvement after one week in the NFL.
Week 3 at Tampa Bay: Boom
Result: 26 – 7 W
Passing Stats: 25/36, 216yds (6.0 AVG), 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 Sacks, 81.4 QBR, 85.0 RTG
Rushing Stats: 9/47yds (5.2 AVG), 1 TD, 22yd LONG
Bo Nix proved he is the greatest quarterback prospect of all time. He picked apart the Tampa Bay defense with surgical precision. Although he passed for fewer yards than against Pittsburgh, he had more completions and made some bigger plays. Sean Payton’s play calling also looked much more inspired than in previous weeks, as he allowed Nix to go deep right out the gate and even utilized running back Tyler Badie, who broke off for a 43-yard run (the longest of the game). Nix also didn’t have to do it all himself as for the first time in his young career he didn’t lead the team in rushing yards, despite running for a career-best 47 yards. Bo Nix has shown massive improvement week by week and is showing he could become the Broncos’ franchise quarterback.
Week 4 at New York J: Bust*
Result: 10 – 9 W
Passing Stats: 12/25, 60yds (2.4 AVG), 1 TD, 0 INT, 0 Sacks, 35.5 QBR, 67.9 RTG
Rushing Stats: 5/3yds (0.6 AVG), 0 TD, 7yd LONG
This game looks really bad on the stat sheet, but, as always, stats don’t tell the whole story. Rookie Bo Nix beat veteran Aaron Rodgers at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey. It wasn’t pretty, but the defense showed up and proved it’s a top 1 defense in the league. In this game Bo Nix got his first passing touchdown, a wide-open redzone pass to Courtland Sutton. In the second half, as the ball dried off, Nix began to find his rhythm and escape from the negatives in passing yards.
*This game was played in the outer bands of Hurricane Helene
Week 5 vs. Las Vegas: Boom
Result: 18 – 34 W
Passing Stats: 19/27, 206yds (7.6 AVG), 2 TD, 0 INT, 3 Sacks (-26yds), 26.9 QBR, 117.2 RTG
Rushing Stats: 8/9yds (1.1 AVG), 1 TD, 11yd LONG
BO NIX IS THE FUTURE OF THE DENVER BRONCOS ORGANIZATION. He did what Russell Wilson couldn’t. He beat the Raiders. Nix snapped an eight-game losing streak to Vegas and did it in landslide fashion. He had his highest career passing average at 7.6 yards and threw for a career-high two passing touchdowns, and ran one in. This game also marks a three-game streak of no interceptions, something Patrick Mahomes (who averages one interception per game) can’t claim this season, and a three-game winning streak, which puts the Broncos above teams like the Bengals (1-4), Dolphins (2-3), and Eagles (2-2). Every pass he made was perfectly placed and had a perfect spiral every time. He threw a perfect deep ball right into the hands of his former Oregon teammate Troy Franklin, but it was dropped. In the post-game press conference, Nix took credit for the drop (even though it was NOT his fault), showing why he’s a captain in his rookie year. During the game, Sean Payton and Bo Nix got into an argument. Unlike Russell Wilson, Bo Nix actually stood up to Sean Payton. After the game, Sean Payton compared Nix to Ferris Beuler and Bo Nix said he “loves” Sean Payton and he loves him back. Give Bo a $300 million contract and start building his statue and make room for Nix’s many future rings.
Overall, Bo Nix has shown lots of improvement through the first five games of his rookie season. He’s even led the Broncos to being over .500 (3-2) for the first time since 2020. Bo Nix has put the league on notice and has even made Denver a possible playoff contender.
