Key statistics proves Broncos' Bo Nix could take the league by storm in 2026

The Denver Broncos have ranked 10th and 14th in points scored per game in the Bo Nix era thus far. Essentially, this has been the 12th-best offense in the NFL over the past two seasons, which is fine. The Broncos aren't a laser show on offense and do have their issues, but they do sport the league's best offensive line and one of the more fun quarterbacks in the NFL.

While Bo Nix is far from perfect, he really hasn't had the easiest of times thus far. His pass-catchers haven't done him many favors in his two years in the NFL, and the front office seemed to agree with this assessment, as the team went out and traded a first and third-round pick for Jaylen Waddle, finally addressing the wide receiver room in a sufficient way.

And when you peel back the curtain on just how bad it was in 2025, it could honestly prove that Nix himself could take the league by storm in the 2026 NFL Season.

The Denver Broncos struggled with drops in the 2026 NFL Season...

We've got two statistics to prove it, too. They both center around drops, which was a massive issue for Denver during the 2025 NFL Season. Data from Pro Football Reference had the Broncos at 43 drops during the 2025 season, which was the second-most in the NFL, only behind the Jacksonville Jaguars:

Jaguars - 45
Broncos - 43
Bears - 29
Rams - 28

The Jaguars and Broncos were the unfortunate leaders in this category, as Denver's pass-catchers registered 14 more drops than the next closest team below them. 14! According to Next Gen Stats, during the 2025 regular season, Nix lost 317 passing yards to drops:

While both stats aren't identical, both list the same teams, so it's safe to say that the Broncos were just not in a good spot with their pass-catchers being able to haul in passes. Even if the Broncos had 10 fewer drops and were more in line with the league average, things would have felt a lot more secure on offense.

Head coach Sean Payton also seemed to allude to the drops being an issue near the end of the season, so this had to have been on the team's radar. You almost wonder if the powers that be got together, saw the insane drop totals and knew right then that an addition had to happen.

Courtland Sutton, who has been the Broncos top target, has a total of 35 drops since the start of the 2021 season, for a drop rate of 6.3 percent, according to Pro Football Refence. During this time, he has 336 receptions for 4,475 yards. Waddle, since the start of his career, which was 2021, has 31 drops for a drop rate of 5.7 percent, but he has 373 receptions for 5,039 yards, so he's been more productive.

The idea with the Waddle trade, as has been talked about for a while now, is that the existing players on the depth chart are pushed down one slot, allowing for advantageous matchups and an overall smoother operation.

It's clear that, while the Broncos do have some talent in the room not factoring in Waddle, they did not have a true game-changer, WR1 player at the position until Waddle's arrival. With this wide receiver room now being rather complete and featuring a ton of complementary skill sets, the drops should lessen.

And if that does happen, Nix himself would see a significant uptick in his production, leading to a statistical increase across the board. Many have been wanting more from Nix and the passing offense, and while some criticize the quarterback, it's primarily been drops that have been the biggest reason.

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