For a long time, ESPN’s Ben Solak has made it clear how little he thinks of Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.
Continually, Solak has put Nix behind a group that includes Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye — the top 3 quarterbacks taken in the 2024 NFL draft.
Now, despite the last 2 weeks of Nix playing at as high of a level as any quarterback in the NFL and despite the Broncos’ 6-2 record and despite Nix leading the Broncos to the playoffs as a rookie, Solak tossed another slight toward Denver’s franchise player.
This time, it came with Solak’s weekly mailbag, where he was asked to rank all of the quarterbacks from that 2024 draft class as it stands today, including a record-tying 6 first round picks, with Nix the last of those 6 taken.
Solak put Maye at No. 1, followed by Daniels and Williams before inserting a “Tier Break” between those quarterbacks followed by Nix, New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and, one tier lower, seldom-seen Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Only Rattler, who was just benched in favor of rookie Tyler Shough, was taken outside the first round.
Here are their records as starting quarterbacks in the NFL headed into Week 9 of the 2025 regular season, in the order Solak ranked them:
- Maye (9-11)
- Daniels (14-8)
- Williams (9-15)
- Nix (16-9)
- Rattler (1-13)
- Penix (4-5)
- McCarthy (1-1)
From that, we can discern winning and losing don’t really figure in Solak’s rankings. Which means it’s safe to assume this is just a case of Solak capping for Maye on a level not seen since Jennifer Jason Leigh copied Bridget Fonda’s hairdo in Single White Female.
Not First Slight of Nix by ESPN’s Solak
Following the 2024 season, Solak used hot-take analytics to justify leaving Nix off his All-Rookie Team in favor of Maye.
Solak did this despite Nix outpacing Maye in every important statistical category for a quarterback and leading Denver to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season — and doing it with a broken back.
Maye was the second team quarterback behind Daniels, who was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“It was very difficult to exclude Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who improved over the course of the season and looks like a long-term starter,” Solak wrote on January 15. “While Nix outproduced Maye in raw stats, it is worth noting that Maye was better by success rate and first down/touchdown rate, indicating a high level of efficiency — despite getting pressured on 37.3% of his dropbacks compared to Nix’s 28.0%. Nix ripped off more explosive plays, but given his superior pass protection and receiving corps, that is not surprising. Both look like franchise guys, but Maye did it in a much worse environment and gets the second-team spot.”
Of the 4 rookies who became full time starters in 2024 — Maye, Williams, Nix and Daniels — only Nix and Daniels led their teams to the playoffs.
Out of those 4, Nix ended the longest playoff drought, guiding the Broncos to the postseason for the first time in 9 years.
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