Tag: bo nix

Chase Daniel says Broncos have ‘found their guy’ in Bo Nix film review

Chase Daniel believes the Broncos have ‘found their guy’ in quarterback Bo Nix.

The stats show Sean Payton made the right call with Bo Nix. If you let Chase Daniels tell it, the Denver Broncos have found their guy for the future.

Nix was drafted by the Broncos in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, coming in with a strong pedigree within his college career as an accurate passer. While there is plenty of room to grow, Nix made tremendous progress in his rookie campaign.

He completed over 66 percent of his passes for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns. His 29 touchdowns were good for sixth in the league and led all rookie quarterbacks. This is why, after Daniels reviewed Nix’s film, he believes the Broncos have a franchise cornerstone for the future. Twenty-nine touchdowns in a rookie season is beyond impressive.

We will only see what Denver head coach Payton can do to build off Nix’s successful rookie campaign. Check out Daniels’s film review of Nix for his 2024 season below:

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Pat Surtain and Bo Nix nominated for Fox’s end-of-season awards

Fox has nominated Broncos QB Pat Surtain for DPOY and QB Bo Nix for OROY. Go vote!

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and cornerback Pat Surtain are both finalists for some of the biggest individual awards in the game at the NFL Honors, which will air on Feb. 6.

Surtain is a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, while Nix is a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Both had incredible years, with Nix setting several franchise and NFL records throughout the season.

In addition to those AP award nominations, Surtain and Nix have also been nominated for Fox’s DPOY and OROY end-of-season awards. Fans can vote for both Surtain and Nix on the NFLonFOX YouTube channel.

Surtain finished the year with “the most dominant season of his four-year career in 2024, matching a career high in interceptions and posting his fourth consecutive season with at least 10 passes defensed,” said a report via the team’s website. “(Surtain) also made several game-changing plays, including a 100-yard pick six in Week 5 vs. the (Las Vegas) Raiders.”

Nix had one of the best seasons for a rookie quarterback in franchise history. With a 10-win season, Nix set the Broncos’ rookie record for wins, while also setting Denver records for passing touchdowns and yards, among other league records during his 2024 campaign.

Get your vote in today!

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Quarterback metrics

Reviewing the best quarterbacks from 2024

With the regular season concluded, it’s a good time to take a look at how quarterbacks arrayed in varying statistical categories. It was a good year for rookies hitting the ground running and these statistical looks reveal more than just category totals. Let’s take a look at how they fared per play. A minimum of 200 passes were considered.

2024 Fantasy Points

Player FF Pts Cmp Att Yds TD INT Rush Yds TD
Lamar Jackson 488 316 474 4172 41 4 139 915 4
Joe Burrow 450 460 652 4918 43 9 42 201 2
Baker Mayfield 445 407 570 4500 41 16 60 378 3
Josh Allen 424 307 483 3731 28 6 102 531 12
Jayden Daniels 404 331 480 3568 25 9 148 891 6
Jared Goff 385 390 539 4629 37 12 35 56 0
Sam Darnold 383 361 545 4319 35 12 67 212 1
Bo Nix 372 376 567 3775 29 12 92 430 4
Jalen Hurts 364 248 361 2903 18 5 150 630 14
Kyler Murray 364 372 541 3851 21 11 78 572 5

Burrow led the NFL with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns. It was a career year for him and Lamar Jackson continued his hot streak since OC Todd Monken finally found the key to unlock his potential. It was a a year of newness since only four of those quarterbacks above were also in the Top-10 of 2023 (Jackson, Allen, Hurts, Goff). Patrick Mahomes as a fantasy difference-maker has taken a major hit.

Let’s move on to other measurements to see the top leaders from 2024. It’s a way to target rising stars who could perform even better this upcoming season.

Passes per touchdown

Quarterback Passes   Per TD
Lamar Jackson    12
Baker Mayfield    14
Jared Goff    15
Joe Burrow    15
Sam Darnold    16
Jordan Love    17
Josh Allen    17
Derek Carr    19
Jayden Daniels    19
Bo Nix    20
Jalen Hurts    20

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baker Mayfield loses his offensive coordinator of Liam Cohen (Jacksonville head coach), so he’ll have to learn yet another offense. Lamar Jackson coupled with Derrick Henry for the top rushing offense, but that also meant on the occasion he would throw to the endzone, the defense was still tracking down Henry.

Passes per interception

Quarterback Pass per Int
Justin Herbert    168
Lamar Jackson    119
Caleb Williams    94
Josh Allen    81
Joe Burrow    72
Jalen Hurts    72
Deshaun Watson    72
Russell Wilson    67
M. Stafford    65
Cooper Rush    62
Tua Tagovailoa    57

 

 

 

 

 

 

The more passes per interception, the more error-free the quarterbacking. Justin Herbert may have had a young and shaky set of receivers to start the season, but he dominated this metric with only three interceptions on the season. Lamar Jackson was next with just four interceptions. Notable was Caleb Williams who ranked No. 3 despite struggling behind a weak offensive line. Far better than any other rookie quarterback, even Jayden Daniels (53).

Passes per sack

Quarterback Pass per sack
Deshaun Watson 7
Will Levis 7
Caleb Williams 8
Jalen Hurts 10
Drake Maye 10
Russell Wilson 10
Jayden Daniels 10
C.J. Stroud 10
Sam Darnold 11
Geno Smith 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

The surprise here is that Deshaun Watson (CLE) and Jalen Hurts (PHI) had what was considered to be above average offensive lines. The Eagles line was considered Top-3 if not the best. And yet they were more often sacked than almost anyone. Hurts propensity to run may have been involved. Caleb Williams was beaten up regularly. This is also a measurement of holding on to the ball for too long, so three rookies is not that shocking.

Yards per completion

Quarterback Yds per comp
A. Richardson    14.4
Lamar Jackson    13.2
Brock Purdy    12.9
Jordan Love    12.6
Josh Allen    12.2
Sam Darnold    12.0
Trevor Lawrence    11.9
Jared Goff    11.9
Jameis Winston    11.7
Jalen Hurts    11.7
Justin Herbert    11.7
Russell Wilson    11.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like the deep ball? Seems to come more often from the running quarterbacks that keep the play alive long enough for the receivers to get down the field. Richardson is slated to start again this season, but his problem wasn’t length of completions but his accuracy instead. Not a ton of difference in this metric.

Plays per rush

Quarterback Plays per rush
Jalen Hurts    3.4
A. Richardson    4.1
Jayden Daniels    4.2
Lamar Jackson    4.4
Josh Allen    5.7
Daniel Jones    6.1
Bo Nix    7.2
Drake Maye    7.3
Will Levis    7.7
Brock Purdy    7.9
Kyler Murray    7.9
Caleb Williams    7.9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those rookie quarterbacks look more likely to bolt than most quarterbacks, but still not as often as Jalen Hurts who didn’t reach four passing plays without taking off on a run. The top rushers were all younger players other than Hurts and Allen. Today’s NFL is kinder to rushing quarterbacks and they show up well in fantasy stats.

Yards per rush

Quarterback Yds per rush
Drake Maye    7.8
Kyler Murray    7.3
Lamar Jackson    6.6
Baker Mayfield    6.3
Caleb Williams    6.0
Jayden Daniels    6.0
A. Richardson    5.8
Bryce Young    5.8
Patrick Mahomes    5.3
Josh Allen    5.2
Geno Smith    5.1
Brock Purdy    4.9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mostly young quarterbacks here, but encouraging that Drake Maye’s 54 runs over 13 games offered the top mark in the metric. Baker Mayfield only rushed 60 times but performed well when he did. But again, youth be served when looking for a rushing quarterback. Jalen Hurts ran a position-high 150 times but only averaged 4.2 yards, but that includes plenty of tush-pushes to hold down his average.

50-Yard completions

Quarterback 50 Yd Comp
Jayden Daniels 5
Jordan Love 4
Lamar Jackson 4
C.J. Stroud 3
Josh Allen 3
Kirk Cousins 3
Matthew Stafford 3
Trevor Lawrence 3
Brock Purdy 2
Jared Goff 2
Sam Darnold 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distance touchdowns are always over-valued in fantasy scoring because they do not happen often or reliably. What is interesting is that the rookie Jayden Daniels (5) led the entire NFL and his receiving corps was limited to Terry McLaurin and… pretty much no one. Jordan Love also excelled at this metric despite not having a clear No. 1 receiver.

Tim Jenkins breaks down Bo Nix’s performance in playoff game

There’s room for improvement from Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. Tim Jenkins broke down the QB’s playoff debut.

On January 5th, against the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix completed a career-best 26 out of 29 passes, good for 89.7 percent of his passes and four touchdowns. As he cliched a playoff birth for his Broncos, the game appeared to be a signal as to what could come next week.

Sadly, Nix didn’t deliver, although it wasn’t quite horrible. Against the Buffalo Bills, he completed 13-of-22 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. While it wasn’t the complete reason for the Broncos’ 31-7 loss to the Bills, his 59% completion rate didn’t get the job done in a playoff loss. 

Tim Jenkins recently broke down Nix’s play against the Bills, highlighting his accuracy in moments and areas where he could improve.

Nix took the Broncos to a playoff birth as a rookie quarterback, and after watching Jenkins break down, it’s clear the sky is the limit for the young QB. Check out Jenkins and his breakdown below.

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Ian Rapoport says the Broncos aren’t there yet, but they will be

“The Broncos aren’t there yet … I think they will be,” Ian Rapoport said of Denver’s long-term outlook.

In theory, the Denver Broncos were a year early. Although Sean Payton’s hire signaled that the Broncos should head back to playoff contention, typically, you don’t go to the playoffs with a rookie quarterback.

Enter the Broncos and the Washington Commanders. Denver featured rookie quarterback Bo Nix, and the Commanders currently have Jayden Daniels. The Broncos won ten games the hard way, going 10-7 before losing to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round of the playoffs. 

Although the Broncos showed that a culture change is happening, Ian Rapoport believes that the Broncos aren’t there yet. Speaking with KOA Radio, Rapoport told Broncos Country that the team’s future is bright despite the playoff loss.

“The better team won, and I think that’s okay,” Rapoport said of the Bills game. “The more talented team won … the Broncos aren’t there yet … I think they will be.”

Check out the full clip below.

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This video of Broncos WRs dropping passes vs. Bills is brutal

The Broncos desperately need to add weapons for QB Bo Nix in 2025.

Four. The number is four.

In this clip below, the Denver Broncos had four drops against the Buffalo Bills in a wild card playoff matchup in the first round of the NFL playoffs. While it isn’t the sole reason they lost 31-7, the drops certainly didn’t help.

The Broncos won ten games in 2024, finishing with a 10-7 record overall, but to get to the next level, production from the wide receiver group is a must. In head coach Sean Payton’s offense, receiver production can predicate the game’s direction and flow.

Denver should look to surround quarterback Bo Nix with talent this offseason, whether through free agency, the draft or trade (or a combination of all three). If Garrett Wilson from the New York Jets remains unhappy, perhaps the Broncos could target him in a trade this spring. 

While the Broncos should be proud about their postseason berth in 2024, there’s still plenty of room for improvement going forward. 

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Broncos QB Bo Nix declines Pro Bowl nod due to minor procedure

Broncos QB Bo Nix turned down an invitation to the Pro Bowl to undergo a pre-planned minor procedure.

When Drake Maye and Russell Wilson were added to the AFC’s Pro Bowl roster on Tuesday as replacements, Denver Broncos fans quickly wondered why quarterback Bo Nix didn’t get in above them.

It turns out Nix was invited to the Pro Bowl as a fourth alternate in the AFC, but he turned down the offer due to a minor procedure, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

The Klis story says it was a “routine and minor, cleanup procedure,” but his source did not reveal which part of Nix’s body received the treatment. Nix did play through three transverse process fractures last season, but Klis reports that the pre-planned procedure was not related to the back injury.

Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud were all unavailable or opted out of the Pro Bowl, so Nix was next in line. After Nix opted out, Joe Burrow is now the AFC’s top QB left with Wilson and Maye added to the squad behind him.

Nix is the second Bronco to decline an alternate nod, joining guard Quinn Meinerz. After being invited as a first alternate, Meinerz turned it down because he did not want to participate as a replacement lineman.

The AFC squad will be coached by Peyton Manning in skills competitions on Jan. 30 (ESPN) and a flag football game on Feb. 2 (ESPN/ABC).

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Titans select QB Bo Nix in 2024 NFL re-draft

Bleacher Report believes the Tennessee Titans should have taken a different direction in the 2024 NFL draft — at least in hindsight.

The Tennessee Titans had a miserable 2024 season that saw them finish 3-14 and earn the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

With this being Championship Sunday and having only four teams remaining, it is a great time for everyone to look back and play “what-if” for the NFL in 2024.  The first focus is usually the NFL draft and how the prized rookie picks panned out in their new homes.

The Titans had a solid draft in 2024, selecting some players who appear to have a bright future in the NFL. The question really is, could it have been better?

The team over at Bleacher Report just did an exercise and did a complete re-draft of the first round which saw the Titans go in a completely different direction.

New Selection: Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
Original Selection: JC Latham, OT, Alabama

The Tennessee Titans used their first pick in 2024 to build around quarterback Will Levis. That turned out to be a mistake—so now the team is going to use its first pick to start over at the position.

Nix won 10 games as a rookie, passing for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns with a passer rating of 93.3. Denver offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey told reporters the Broncos knew early on that they had found their quarterback of the future.

“We all came out of training camp knowing this guy was going to be special,” McGlinchey said. “You joke about [how] rookies should be seen and not heard and all that, but he just showed up tough, smart, and I’ve said — put together. And that’s how he was all season.”

This is where the re-draft “what-ifs” start piling up. With Nix under center, the Titans probably won’t wind up with the first pick in 2025. But if the team did have that first pick and a quarterback already in hand, trading back becomes a lot more palatable for Tennessee—and the haul they could get from a QB-needy team eyeing Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward could go a long way toward making Tennessee a factor in the AFC South once again.

This is an interesting scenario and one that does warrant some discussion. By all accounts, Nix outperformed all expectations in 2024 and does appear to be poised to become a solid quarterback in the league. But this fails to address one of the biggest issues with Tennessee, and in fact, drafting Nix instead of Latham would have decimated a bad offensive line.

Latham came in and stabilized the left side and proved to be a valuable selection with an upside. Yes, he wasn’t perfect, but without him, that line would have been even worse. There is no way that Nix would have performed up to the level he did in Denver behind a line anchored by Nicholas Petit-Frere, likely at left tackle.

There is no doubt that these exercises can be fun and interesting, but at the same time, they often overlook the issues that arise when they remove the player selected. Would Nix have been a better selection? Possibly. But without Latham, there is no doubt the offensive line would have been worse.

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Sean Payton is up for his second AP Coach of the Year award

Sean Payton was named AP Coach of the Year with the New Orleans Saints in 2006 and he’s a finalist for the award in 2024 with the Denver Broncos:

Zack Baun and Trey Hendrickson aren’t the only former members of the New Orleans Saints who are finalists for an Associated Press award. Former head coach Sean Payton, now with the Denver Broncos, is a finalist for Coach of the Year. He previously won this award with the Saints in 2006.

Payton led the Broncos to the playoffs in second year with the team. It was Denver’s first playoff berth since their 2015 Super Bowl victory.

Though it was only a two game improvement from Year 1, Payton and the Broncos still over achieved. Russell Wilson’s play was shaky in 2023, but the move to rookie Bo Nix was supposed to be a much slower transition.

The defense was the backbone of the team, while Nix exceeded expectations and is in the running for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Making the playoffs with a rookie at quarterback is the driving force of Payton’s resume for the award. He and Dan Quinn, a fellow finalist, are the only ones to achieve that feat this year.

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Broncos QB Bo Nix had one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history

Stat fact: Broncos QB Bo Nix is unlikely to win Rookie of the Year, but he still had one of the best rookie seasons by a QB in NFL history.

Going into the 2024 NFL season, multiple outlets ranked Denver Broncos rookie Bo Nix as the worst starting quarterback in the NFL.

Nix went on to have the greatest season by a rookie quarterback in franchise history, setting new team records for wins (10), completions (376), passing yards (3,775) and passing touchdowns (29).

Nix won Rookie of the Week honors three times, he twice won AFC Player of the Week and was named Rookie of the Month in October. He was just the second rookie in franchise history to win multiple Conference Player of the Week honors in a season.

Nix became the team’s first rookie quarterback since John Elway (1983) to start in Week 1, and he joined Elway as just the second rookie QB to ever lead the team to a postseason berth.

“He changed the ceiling a lot,” star cornerback Pat Surtain said of Nix. “A lot of times when rookie quarterbacks come in the expectations [are] set low, but he’s risen above all those expectations as a rookie. Him coming in with the right mindset, always staying composed, [having] the right confidence and attitude, I already knew he was going to be successful coming in.

“Through adverse times he would tell you through adverse situations he always kept his confidence, his swagger and that’s when I knew he was QB1 for the future for sure. I’m very proud of Bo.”

Nix’s season wasn’t just historic at the team level, though. He had one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history.

Nix’s 34 total touchdowns ranked second all-time among rookie quarterbacks, only trailing Justin Herbert (36 in 2020) and Cam Newton (35 in 2011). His 29 passing touchdowns are the second-most in NFL history and his 376 completions rank third all-time.

Denver’s signal caller had seven games in 2024 with at least 200 passing yards, multiple passing touchdowns and no interceptions, setting a new NFL record. He passed the previous record of six games set by Herbert (2020) and C.J. Stroud (2023).

Nix ended the season with 29 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. His 2.4 touchdown to interception ratio marked the third-best among rookies all-time (with a minimum of 500 passing attempts).

Nix also became the first rookie to record multiple games with at least 300 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and a passer rating of 140. Additionally, he became the first QB to ever have 20 total touchdowns and two or fewer turnovers in a ten-game span during a rookie season.

Nix’s five games with at least three touchdown passes are the second-most by a rookie, only trailing Herbert (six in 2020). He also tied Hebert’s record of ten games with multiple touchdown passes.

In the Broncos’ regular season finale, Nix started the game with 18 straight completions, the most by a rookie in NFL history. That completion streak was the fourth-longest by any player to begin a game in league history.

Nix ended that game with a 89.7% completion rate, setting a new franchise record. He was named a Pro Bowl alternate following his rookie campaign.

“Bo isn’t your average rookie,” veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. “He comes in to work like a veteran. If no one knew that Bo was a rookie this year, and you just saw how he worked, and saw how he played on the field, no one would say, ‘That’s a rookie.’ I admire that about him.

“I admire that he doesn’t allow the outside circumstances or the outside noise to try to determine the type of player that he’s going to be. He has so much more. I told you all before — it’s only the beginning. I’m so excited [that] I get to experience Bo Nix’s career. However long I get to experience it, I know he’s going to play a lot longer than I will. However long I get to experience it, it’s a fun experience to be on.”

Among rookies with at least 500 drop backs, Nix’s 24 sacks were tied for the fewest in NFL history (Baker Mayfield also took 24 sacks in 2018). Nix proved to be tough to sack, and he made plays with his legs almost every week.

Nix rushed for four touchdowns as a rookie, passing Marlin Briscoe (three) for the second-most in franchise history (Tim Tebow had six). Nix also passed Tebow and Briscoe for the most rushing yards (430) by a rookie in team history.

“He’s a hard sack, right?” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of Nix after the team’s season finale. “I also know it’s difficult if someone coming from the college ranks is sacked quite a bit, it’s difficult to change that. So, that statistic has as much to do with the quarterback, as it does the offensive line, and I think that he processes it and gets rid of it.

“The other thing I would say is, man, with his feet. Maybe there’s a little bit more there than we didn’t see, because you know, he didn’t run the shuttles and everything, but he can run and that’s kind of spaghetti sauce sometimes when the pocket isn’t clean.”

Nix ended the year in great company as one of just five rookies to post at least 3,500 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns as a rookie, joining Jayden Daniels (2024), Herbert (2020), Mayfield (2018) and Peyton Manning (1998).

In any other season, Nix probably would have won Offensive Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately, Daniels was even better in 2024.

Nix and Daniels are two of five finalists for the NFL’s 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Given how often QBs win such awards, Daniels and Nix are the top two contenders, with Daniels the heavy favorite.

Daniels having a brilliant season does not negate the year that Nix had, though. Despite being the sixth QB taken in the 2024 NFL draft, Nix finished the year as the second-best rookie with one of the best rookie seasons ever. Denver made the right pick, and Nix has a bright future in the NFL.

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