Broncos QB Bo Nix Silenced the Critics, Now Here Comes the Encore

When it comes to NFL perception, a lot can change over the course of a calendar year. This time last year, the Denver Broncos' roster was being panned across the NFL media landscape, especially the quarterback and skill positions.

Infamously, Pro Football Focus ranked the Broncos' quarterback room last May as the worst in the league — well after the 2024 NFL draft. Then Bo Nix went about winning the starting job over two young veterans and became the first Broncos rookie quarterback since John Elway to be the Week-1 starter.

From there, it was a whirlwind for Nix. It was a bit of a rocky start, as he acclimated to the NFL over the first quarter of the season, though he kept the Broncos at 2-2 and won back-to-back East Coast road games.

The lightbulb really turned on for Nix in October, though, when he would go on to light up the NFL, earning Offensive Rookie of the Month honors. Nix would leapfrog the likes of Caleb Williams and Drake Maye — both top-three draft picks — in the Offensive Rookie of the Year sweepstakes, although he'd ultimately come up short in the voting to Washington Commanders phenom Jayden Daniels and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.

However, Nix would finish the season with 10 wins, leading the Broncos to a Wildcard playoff berth, and snapping the team's heretofore eight-year postseason drought. Along the way, he set multiple team and league rookie records, passing for 3,775 yards and leading all rookie quarterbacks in passing and total touchdowns (34).

Those still clutching their pre-draft pearls over Nix purportedly being a Day 2-caliber quarterback, and castigating the Broncos for 'reaching' on him at No. 12 overall in the draft, were slow to come around. However, most of them have come to their senses.

Even if such Nix/Broncos critics aren't ready to abandon their 'reach' critiques, they at least acknowledge that he landed in the ideal spot for his skill set, with Sean Payton in the Mile High City. Any lingering doubts won't be put to bed until Nix goes out and does it again in 2025, building on his impressive rookie resume with continued production and development at the individual and team level.

We'll know soon enough where outlets like PFF ultimately rank Nix and the Broncos' skill positions, although some have obviously missed the boat. Take FS1's Nick Wright, for example, who still won't admit he was wrong about Nix, and predicts a Year 2 regression. It's worth mentioning that Wright is an unabashed Kansas City Chiefs fan.

The 2024 offseason takes that Denver had one of the worst skill-position groups in the NFL have also been exposed as freezing cold. Chalk it up to the Nix effect, certainly, but Courtland Sutton eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark last season, while Marvin Mims Jr. emerged as more than a gadget player down the stretch, posting back-to-back two-touchdown receiving games to close out the campaign.