Bo Nix
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Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.
If you don’t pay attention to statistics and don’t care about the finer points of football, then you probably assume there’s this gigantic canyon, in terms of play, that exists between Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix — 2 first round picks in the 2024 NFL draft who started every game for their teams as rookies.
You’d be dead wrong. While both quarterbacks led their teams to the postseason, Nix actually had more passing yards (3,775) and touchdowns (29) than Daniels despite not even throwing his first touchdown pass until the fourth game of the regular season.
Bleacher Report’s Mo Moton thinks the Broncos have a transformative “Building Block” in Nix that could guide them through the next decade.
“Last offseason, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton raised eyebrows when he compared Bo Nix to former 13-time Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees,” Moton wrote on July 5. “Nix still has a long way to go to measure up to those comparisons, but in his first year, the Oregon product proved he can handle an accomplished and demanding head coach who knows how to turn a quarterback into a league star … He’s dynamic, accurate and off to a strong start among his peers from a loaded quarterback class.”
While insiders like Moton might think Nix is a player to build around, the Broncos might not actually feel that way yet.
Commanders, Broncos Had Different Draft Priorities
The offseason and the 2025 NFL draft kind of showed us exactly how the Broncos and Commanders view their young quarterbacks.
The Commanders went crazy trying to build an offense around Daniels despite having maximum needs on defense. They traded for a Pro Bowl left offensive tackle in Laremy Tunsil and traded for a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Deebo Samuel. Then, they drafted Oregon offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr. in the first round — a player who could be a plug and play starter at right tackle or one of the guards spots in the opener.
The Broncos, already possessing arguably the NFL’s best defense, had maximum needs on offense … and still drafted another defensive player in the first round with Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron at No. 20 overall.
While the difference might just be in that the Commanders already view themselves as Super Bowl contenders and the Broncos see themselves as still being a few years away, it’s not nothing they didn’t think Nix-first in the draft and offseason.
Broncos Getting Unexpected Value Out of Nix
In the most binary, capitalistic terms possible, Nix has already saved the Broncos a ton of money.
Denver is on track to get at least 3 years of Nix starting every game on a cut rate deal with his 4-year, $18.6 million rookie contract — savings that essentially negate the $85 million dead cap hit over the 2024 and 2025 seasons from the Russell Wilson contract.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put Nix on his list of the NFL’s “Most Underpaid Players” on March 28.
“This one’s simple,” Gagnon wrote. “Nix is already a steady franchise quarterback and is on track to become a star at the sport’s most critical position. Yet 38 quarterbacks have higher salaries than the 2024 No. 12 overall pick at $4.7 million per season.”