The consensus opinion on Bo Nix seems to vary in a big way. Well, let's look at which QBs in the AFC the second-year passer is clearly better than. Nix clearly proved many of the doubters wrong in the 2024 NFL Season, but even when doing this, some were still not yet ready to admit that they were wrong.
It was actually quite odd in watching how some folks talked about Nix as he was improving his play. By the time we got to the end of the 2024 season, Nix was still ranked quite low in various QB rankings. I am not there is an argument at this point though - Bo Nix is a franchise QB, and the only remaining question might just be how good he is.
Let's quickly look at every starting QB in the AFC that Bo Nix is unquestionably better than for 2025.
Bo Nix is better than all of these starting QBs in the AFC for 2025
In no particular order, Nix is better than all of the following projected starting QBs in the AFC:
Joe Flacco
Cam Ward
Justin Fields
Anthony Richardson
Geno Smith
Trevor Lawrence
Tua Tagovailoa
Drake Maye
Mason Rudolph
You really can't argue this much. Whether it's due to an injury concern, inconsistent play, age, or a mixture of all of that, none of these passers are better than Bo Nix. Cam Ward hasn't taken a snap in the NFL, so that one is easy. If we wanted to really get frisky, we could try and argue that Nix is also better than CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans and perhaps on the same level as Justin Herbert.
I could argue that Nix did way more with less than Stroud in 2025, and could also argue the same regarding Herbert and add that the Chargers QB seems to have hit a clear ceiling in the NFL through his first five seasons. I won't yet go there with either QB, though.
But let's give credit where it's due - Bo Nix did establish himself as a top QB in the NFL during his rookie season. Some folks aren't yet ready to buy into that yet, but Nix should be able to totally shut the door on any detractors when the new season begins.
