Bo Nix's struggles this year have been well-documented, and those who have been lower on the Denver Broncos quarterback are currently doing their victory laps. Had it not been for a broken ankle in the AFC Divisional Round, the Broncos very likely play in the Super Bowl last year, and Nix was right in the middle of that playoff run.
With his struggles across the first six games this year, though, some have begun to wonder if Nix is even worth keeping around as the Broncos starter, as you don't have to search far to find someone or an outlet calling for Nix to be benched, as crazy as that might sound.
You also don't have to search that far to find people coming out in defense of Nix, and during media availability following the Broncos' Wednesday practice, veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton really did not mince words when talking about Nix.
Denver Broncos' WR Courtland Sutton just put the Bo Nix doubters on blast
It's to the point now that all of these current and former players coming out in support of Nix should tell you something:
Courtland Sutton on the critiques of Bo Nix:
— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) October 21, 2026
"People can say what they want to say and feel how they want to feel, and they're entitled to that... At some point the tide is going to turn and everyone is going to be 'oh Bo Nix is the best.' ... Nah keep that same energy." pic.twitter.com/eCYOK1wJl1
Sutton laid it all out here and hit the doubters with the 'ole "keep that same energy" line, which is perfect. The thing with Nix is that, when the Broncos drafted him back in 2024, it felt like no one held back in terms of their critique of the player and the pick.
It's probably a much different conversation if Nix was a second-round pick, for example, but he's had the best overall body of work of any of the 2024 quarterbacks thus far, and even during the first two seasons of his career, many of the doubters still didn't hesitate in expressing their negative opinions of Nix, saying things like 'he's carried by his defense/elite coaching/offensive line, etc.'
And now, with his struggles, which have clearly been the worst struggles of his career, the victory laps from these doubters are obvious. But as we have seen in Nix's career, just when it seems like he and the Broncos are out of things, Nix brings them back.
That might seem cliche to say, but all of the late-game comebacks and last year's playoff game further prove it. We've also seen Nix operate the offense at a high level before, so this has nothing to do with an inability.
From Weeks 11-16 last year, Nix and the Broncos went 4-1. He had a 94.6 passer rating during that stretch and ended up throwing for 1,482 yards across those five games, which would have averaged out to 5,039 yards across a 17-game season.
The idea that Nix isn't a quality passer or is some low-ceiling player in terms of throwing the football is flat-out wrong, and that's a lot of the criticism we have seen Nix get thrown his way this offseason. It's very possible that the third-year signal-caller is simply in a bit of a slump due to his returning from the ankle injury and the Broncos having just wrapped up an insanely tough schedule thus far.
It's clear that there are many 'defenders' out there of Nix, and a lot of them are current or former players. It's not impossible that what Sutton said on Wednesday ends up being 100 percent right, too.
Just as Sutton had, at some point, the tide is going to turn.
Add us as a preferred source on Google