Many people in Broncos Country believe that after nearly a decade of searching, the answer at the quarterback position has finally been solved with Bo Nix. The No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has come to town and helped engineer back-to-back winning seasons for the Broncos to get them back in playoff contention.
After years of Paxton Lynch and Drew Lock and other failed Broncos quarterbacks, Nix is the first one to have sustained success for more than just a few games. He threw for 29 touchdowns as a rookie, the second-most by a first-year player in league history and has given Broncos fans something to finally cheer for.
However, there some things about Nix’s game that raise concerns, and will wave some major flags when it’s time to hand out a hefty contract extension to him after the 2026 season. QB contracts usually take up the highest percentage of a team’s salary cap, and if he’s making over $50 million a season down the road, it could hurt the Broncos more than helping them.
Midway through the season, Nix is 10th in passing yards (1,976), tied for third in passing touchdowns (17) and has taken just nine sacks, the best mark in the league for quarterbacks who have played nine games. On the flip side, he’s 28th in completion percentage (61.2%) while having the fifth-most pass attempts (322), two figures that shouldn’t go together.
THE RINGER PUTS 24 QUARTERBACKS AHEAD OF BO NIX
In The Ringer’s midseason QB rankings, the Broncos signal caller slotted in at No. 25 on the list. Nix’s inconsistency to accurately throw deep balls and his jitters in the pocket — two negatives that the entire NFL world can see on a weekly basis — were cited as the two main things holding him back. There have been too many instances this season in which Nix has escaped out of the pocket and looked for his checkdown too quickly while his receivers get open down the field, and there have been plenty more instances where he didn’t set his feet in the pocket, rushed his throw and missed his open target.
Bo Nix with three big near misses in Week 3:
1. Off Marvin Mims fingertips for potential 63-yard TD
2. Too long to Mims on potential 28-yard TD
3. Too long to Courtland Sutton on potential chunk gain that would have set up a go-ahead field goal pic.twitter.com/xcyaWSOsBA
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 22, 2025
Points and possessions have been left on the table from the Broncos signal caller, and it’s not exactly clear how much Sean Payton trusts him to get the job done, as it seems that the training wheels are still on the offensive scheme through the first three quarters of a game more often than not. Payton has Nix rolling out to his right, a move that lets Nix play to his strengths but then takes away half the field as a result. Nix almost threw an interception on a play like that in Sunday’s win over the Texans, following a play in which he was late on a deep ball and was picked off.
Texans intercept Bo Nix!
Nix is now 1-of-7 passing with an INT.
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/ivxoJWGbfs
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 2, 2025
He finished that Texans game with just 18 completions on 37 attempts in another inconsistent outing. He’s now had a completion percentage under 60% in a third of Denver’s contests.
Yes, Nix has shown that he’s got a clutch gene that’s reminiscent to John Elway’s days, as he’s orchestrated four different fourth quarter comebacks through the first half of the season. While those have been great, he’s had to do them because of his constancy issues in the first three quarters.
If the Broncos had any of the other 24 quarterbacks ahead of Nix on the list, would they be 9-0 and Super Bowl favorites? Outside of Geno Smith, Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa, there’s an argument to be made for the rest of the guys ahead of Nix.
There’s still some time for Nix to grow and learn from his mistakes, but as a 25-year-old who has started in 27 NFL games and 61 college football games, if he’s not able to correct his mistakes with Sean Payton coaching him, will he ever be able to do it before it’s too late?