Troy Renck: Bo Nix proved himself as a franchise quarterback against the Chiefs. On Sunday, he announced himself as the NFL’s best rookie quarterback. Who says no? The idea Nix could elevate above Washington’s Jayden Daniels seemed unthinkable when he was throwing interceptions against the Seahawks, struggling to grip the ball against the New York Jets and looking lost against the Chargers. Against the Falcons, he showed how far he has come, riddling Atlanta for 307 yards and four touchdowns, while completing 84.8% of his passes. No rookie has ever had a stat line quite like that. So I ask you, Sean, with six games remaining in the season, did the Broncos get the best quarterback in the 2024 class?
Sean Keeler: The heart wants to pound the accelerator. The head wants to pump the brakes. This season was always supposed to be, first and foremost, a real-time study as to what you had in Bo — how well he adapted to NFL speed, NFL chess games, etc., and how well he mind-melded with Sean Payton. Sometimes, those transfusions don’t take. Dude, this one took. In sickness and in health, it took. In fact, it’s taken so spectacularly, that I’m more shocked at Nix’s occasional rookie flubs than I am when he’s dicing defenses in the 2-minute drill. But there’s one problem with proclaiming him the best signal-caller from the Class of ’24: His argument might’ve taken too long to really, truly get started.
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Renck: When a quarterback is the sixth taken in the draft, his success rate hovers between forgettable and bust. But Payton talked arrogantly about how he would be better at the identification process than his peers. It was why I liked the pick. Payton saw the fit. Oddly, it did not look that way during the first four games as Payton asked Nix to be Drew Brees. Jayden Daniels looked way better. Caleb Williams showed more upside. And scouts still slobbered over Drake Maye’s athleticism and Michael Penix’s rocket arm. In a vacuum, I would still take Daniels over Nix. But with Payton in Denver, I prefer Nix. They complete each other. All Nix has done over the last seven games is connect on 69% of his passes at 7.4 yards per attempt with 13 touchdowns and two picks. His passer rating during this stretch: 106.3. He is not good for a rookie. He is good for anyone.
Keeler: Nix’s NFL curve reminds me of a young Labrador retriever. The legs grew before the rest of the body, so the gait was awkward at first. Now the rest of his game has caught up. I mean, yeah, the end result felt like getting stabbed with a broken bottle, but that final drive at Arrowhead was a real turning point. He did everything right, with precision, against the dynasty of the moment in one of the loudest, most insane atmospheres in football. He made Patrick Mahomes look helpless, trapped on the sidelines. Then he turned around and beat Kirk Cousins by 32. To paraphrase one of my favorite fictional coaches, Lou Brown from “Major League,” it’s startin’ to come together.
Renck: Let’s be fair. Part of the reason Daniels looks ordinary lately is because of a rib injury. He is not running as much at a time when Nix is hitting his stride. And Williams, while getting props for leadership, has not changed the clock in his head to NFL time, holding onto the ball too long and taking monster hits (this is my fear with Shedeur Sanders’ transition to the pros). Maye is a project. The Josh Allen comps are fun, but unfair. And if it was a throwing contest, Penix would win every time, but his future MRIs concern me more than his INTs. Nix has maturity, intelligence and a work ethic that has already won over the locker room. And when was the last time we saw him make the same mistake twice? Daniels is more talented, but when it comes to being on the right team with the right coach at the right time, I believe Nix will continue to show that the Broncos landed the best quarterback.
Keeler: No ’24 rookie QB has come as far, and as fast, as The Bo Show. Nix has won over Broncos Country, but let’s be real on this, too — when it comes to perception, he’s still got some work to do with some national talking heads. Daniels is playing with a legacy franchise in a legacy market on the East Coast. Nix, at his peak, still might be considered the third-best QB in his own division — not that it’s remotely his fault. That last one is going to be a hard bias for many analysts to suppress. But dang it, they should. If No. 10 is the one who finally slays Denver’s too-long playoff drought, that’s one heck of a Nix fix. And an even better closing argument.
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