The Denver Broncos have turned this operation around over the past two seasons. Thanks to the guidance of Sean Payton, an elite defense, and hitting on Bo Nix in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Broncos are suddenly positioned to win the Super Bowl this year.
One thing that plagued the team over the past two seasons, though, is inconsistent play from the pass-catchers, specifically with drops. Not only have the Broncos not had a go-to weapon on offense until the arrival of Jaylen Waddle, but dropped passes have become a major concern in the Nix era thus far.
Ideally, the addition of Waddle eases things up for the rest of the group, gives Nix's a go-to weapon, and also helps the drops reduce. We took a deeper dive into the sheer amount of drops that Nix has had to deal with, and it's a jaw-dropping number.
Denver Broncos' pass-catchers have registered 75 drops in Bo Nix's two NFL seasons
With data from Pro Football Reference, here are the quarterbacks, since the start of 2024, who have had to deal with the most drops on offense:
1. Bo Nix - 75
2. Trevor Lawrence - 60
3. Justin Herbert - 57
4. Aaron Rodgers - 56
5. Patrick Mahomes - 53
Nix's pass-catchers have registered 15 more drops than the next closest team/QB combination.
Fifteen!
This is horrific, to be honest with you, and it further reinforces the idea that Nix has been the one carrying the load on offense, not the other way around like some think. On paper, Nix's passing production isn't eye-popping, but 75 drops in two seasons and a rather mediocre run game during that time are reasons for that overall lack of high-end production.
Through two seasons, Nix has averaged 10.1 yards per completion, so simple math tells us that Nix has lost about 758 passing yards due to drops. Obviously, no NFL team is going to register 0 drops in a season, but when you flesh out just how much production has been lost to drops, it really makes you wonder how many points the Broncos have left on the table.
And with Nix already in the third year of his rookie deal and being eligible for an extension following the season, now was the time to make a big move like this. Adding Waddle should allow the other pass-catchers to see more advantageous matchups, so there is reason to believe Denver won't have 43 drops in 2026.
In 2024, during Nix's rookie season, the Broncos weren't going to make any sort of aggressive move to add weapons around him - his rookie season was more to evaluate what the team had at the position before making further moves.
And in 2025, the team did add Pat Bryant in the NFL Draft, brought in RJ Harvey, and also likely hoped that guys like Marvin Mims Jr and Troy Franklin would take positive steps forward. For the most part, that didn't happen, so this offseason did present a situation where Denver really didn't have much of a choice but to make a major move to acquire Waddle.
Now, on paper, at least, the Broncos appear to check all the boxes on offense and may now be able to let Nix thrive more as a passer and not have to ask him to 'save the day' if you will, due to underperformance.
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