The emergence of Bo Nix rejuvenated the Denver Broncos fan base. With him behind center, the team ended its playoff drought, which stretched from Super Bowl 50. Finally, after Peyton Manning retired, the Broncos won’t have questions about their starting quarterback entering training camp.
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However, things change quickly in the NFL, and some fans fear that Nix might struggle in his second season. The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider doesn’t see the sophomore slump happening, as he argued in his May 7 Broncos mailbag article.
A Broncos fan asked Kosmider, “His haters believe Nix is more like Daniel Jones than Herbert and that his play will regress in his second year. What are your feelings, Nick?”
To which Kosmider replied, “There is more pointing to a Nix step forward than a step backward. Part of it is just looking at his history. Many evaluators determined after Nix’s three seasons at Auburn that he had reached his ceiling as perhaps a middle-to-late-round NFL prospect. He went to Oregon, improved his craft while being handed more ownership of an offense, set records, and turned himself into a first-round prospect.”
Bo Nix finished his rookie season with a 66.3 completion percentage (376 of 567) for 3,775 passing yards and 29 touchdowns. Likewise, he had seven games with a completion percentage of at least 70 percent, including a career-best 89.7 percent during their Week 18 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The former Auburn and Oregon standout added 430 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, which helped him earn a 76.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Nix completed the second-most touchdown passes as a rookie, after Justin Herbert’s 31 in 2020.
Broncos Improve Supporting Cast Around Nix
Nix established solid numbers despite lacking a legitimate backfield threat and a reliable pass-catching target outside Courtland Sutton. As a testament to the Broncos’ inconsistent ground attack, Nix led in rushing in six of their 18 games, including their Wild Card Round loss to the Buffalo Bills. PFF also notes that Nix ranked fifth in designed runs and seventh in scramble yards among quarterbacks.
However, the Broncos addressed that concern by selecting RJ Harvey in the second round. The running back from UCF was a 2024 First-Team All-Big-12 member after tallying 232 carries for 1,577 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Harvey 92nd in his Top 300 list and described the 5-foot-8 RB as “a dynamic make-you-miss runner with his tempo and burst (54 carries of 10 or more yards in 2024), which made him a frequent visitor to the end zone.”
The Broncos also bolstered their receiving corps by drafting Pat Bryant and signing undrafted free agents Joaquin Davis, Courtney Jackson, and Jerjuan Newton. Likewise, Denver addressed their meager production from the tight end spot by acquiring Evan Engram on a two-year, $23 million contract.
More importantly, other skill position standouts like Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime, Marvin Mims Jr., Devaughn Vele, and Troy Franklin get another year of NFL experience.
Former NFL General Manager Points Out How Bo Nix Can Improve His Game
In the May 9 episode of CBS Sports’ With the First Pick Podcast, former Tennessee Titans GM Ran Carthon said about Nix, “I just think you just still need to evolve as a passer, get more comfortable, and just continue to be aggressive in the spots with the football.”
While there were games when Bo Nix found his receivers at will, there were times when he couldn’t hit the mark. Carthon encapsulated that thought by pointing out Nix’s 2-2 record with six interceptions in December, a month when the games mattered more.
Luckily for the Broncos, they won the games in which Nix threw five of those six picks. However, delivering the same results might adversely affect their postseason aspirations in 2025.
