The Denver Broncos may have one of the next great quarterbacks in the NFL, but some out there are clearly still hating. Many across the NFL landscape simply hated the Bo Nix selection by the Denver Broncos in the 2024 NFL Draft, and it seemed like those folks were on pace to be right through the first two games of his career.
However, as we know, the NFL season is a marathon, and Nix truly figured it out down the stretch, throwing for 29 touchdowns against just eight interceptions following the rough start to his NFL career. Nix and the defense were so solid that they ended up with 10 wins and a postseason berth for the first time since the 2015 season.
It's not crazy to suggest that Nix is close to, if not, a top-10 QB in this league, but I would understand if you simply aren't ready to go there yet. Well, not only are some people clearly not bought in yet, but the hate has reached a new level...
Here is what Garrett Podell of CBS Sports had to say about the Denver Broncos QB room, which he ranked as the eighth worst in the NFL:
"Denver Broncos starting quarterback Bo Nix had a strong regular season as a rookie. His 29 touchdowns passing were the second-most ever by rookie behind only Justin Herbert's 31. He and 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels are the only rookies in NFL history with at least 10 wins, 4,000 or more total yards and 30 or more total touchdowns in a season, per CBS Sports Research.Garrett Podell
However, his conservative, game manager style of play led to a struggle-filled day in his NFL postseason debut at the Buffalo Bills. In the regular season, Nix averaged 7.3 air yards per pass attempt, which ranked 26th out 36 qualified quarterbacks in 2024. He threw for 144 yards on 13 of 22 passing and a touchdown as well as a rushing for a team-high 43 yards on four carries. Buffalo played to stop the run to force Nix to beat them with his arm, and he failed to do so in a 31-7 beatdown loss. He still has some work to do to become a bigger threat through the air to NFL defenses in 2025.
Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham has bounced around the NFL, suiting up for the New England Patriots (2019-20), Las Vegas Raiders (2022) and the Broncos (2023-present). Nothing yet to write home about. Third-string quarterback Sam Ehlinger is on a similar trajectory to Stidham, signing with Denver after three seasons as a backup on the Indianapolis Colts from 2021-2023. "
Broncos QB room is not being given the respect it deserves
Yes, this is real. In my opinion, this is some shallow logic here from Podell, who is arguing that Nix played like a game manager in 2024 and was unable to 'beat' the Buffalo Bills with his arm in Denver's playoff loss. When you actually watch the games, you surely would have seen that Nix was not working with much at all - the WR unit was largely below-average, and the run game was simply inconsistent.
In many instances, much of the production from the offense fell on the shoulders of Nix, who was able to carry a load that not many rookie QBs have been able to do, and being that Bo Nix gradually got better as the 2025 NFL Season went on, we should be able to comfortably say that this wasn't some one-off year.
There is reason to believe that Nix and the offense will make a huge leap in 2025, so Podell's ranking of the team's QB room being the eighth worst in the NFL is going to age terribly, period.