The Denver Broncos are in a nice spot heading into the 2025 season, with the organization having made improvements on both sides of the ball in both free agency and the draft.
However, even with the numerous roster additions, the Broncos will need some improvements from their most important player – quarterback, Bo Nix – if they are to succeed in what many view as the most competitive division in the AFC, and perhaps all of football.
Nix had a fine rookie season, but there is no doubt there are areas to improve upon heading into Year 2. And CBS Sports’ Zachary Pareles has identified the one thing that the former Oregon star could get do to push himself into the higher tier of QBs in the league – get better on straight, non-play action dropbacks from under center.
Bo Nix Told To Improve On Straight Dropbacks in 2025
“While his 6.7 yards per attempt ranked just 29th of 36 qualifiers,” Pareles wrote, “he was a much healthier 20th in EPA per dropback. A big part of this was Nix’s ability to avoid sacks: Only Josh Allen and Derek Carr had a lower negative play rate. Still, 20th in EPA per dropback isn’t exactly great — it was directly behind Aidan O’Connell, Kirk Cousins and Joe Flacco — and Nix has a few areas he can improve upon.”
Although Nix struggled on pure three and five step dropbacks, he saw a lot more success on play action passes, which the Broncos offense eventually began to adapt to as the season went on – but, crucially, not in January’s Wild Card game in Buffalo.
“The Broncos started leaning into play action as the season progressed, which was a major help for Nix….Sean Payton doesn’t necessarily want to lean into play action, but without it, Nix struggled. And when the running game didn’t pose a threat or when Denver trailed, play action didn’t help. In the blowout playoff loss to the Bills, Denver only ran four play action plays. When things weren’t immediately open for Nix and he was stuck in the pocket, he had the propensity to take sacks trying to extend plays, something he mostly avoided otherwise.”
What Are The Realistic Expectations For Bo Nix Heading Into Year 2?
As Pareles notes, Nix’s struggles in the pocket without a clear first or second read is not necessarily surprising given his scouting report coming out of college pointed that as one of his biggest deficiencies.
However, this also very common for all young quarterbacks entering the NFL: if read one and two are not open, many of them turn into rabbits stuck in headlights, and cannot do much but either take the sack or attempt to scramble away – the latter of which the ex Oregon QB actually did surprisingly well last year.
Nix – as we all know, including Pareles – does not have some Josh Allen-esque, magical arm. But he does certainly a strong mix of athleticism, confidence and an excellent work ethic that could see him do excellently in 2025 and beyond.
Most quarterbacks struggle, to some extent, in their rookie years. What matters more is how they develop in years two, three and four as they look to secure a future for themselves in the league.
And the same counts for Nix. The Broncos don’t desperately need him to look like Patrick Mahomes and win the AFC West at a canter, but as long as he is showing demonstrable improvements from year one and helping the offense grow, Sean Payton and co. will consider that a win.
