Bo Nix Ranked Behind Questionable Names in New QB Rankings

On the heels of producing a 14-win season, Bo Nix still can't get any respect.

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 17: Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) reacts after a play in the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round game at Empower Field at Mile High on January 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. | Dustin Bradford / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Bo Nix seems locked in the Rodney Dangerfield purgatory of NFL quarterbacks. Nix "can't get no respect all."

Despite leading the Broncos to a 14-3 record, dethroning Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West crown, and coming one heartbreaking ankle injury away from likely advancing to the Super Bowl, Nix landed at No. 20 in Mina Kimes and Benjamin Solak's 2026 NFL quarterback rankings. Sam Darnold, who won the actual Super Bowl, ranked No. 19.

Solak characterized Nix as a risk-averse quarterback who lacks downfield accuracy and is not a "reliable deliverer of the football."

"Bo Nix, a player who I've always found unoffensively fine in a way that deeply offends a lot of people in Colorado, is a highly risk-averse quarterback who keeps the offense on schedule. Since he entered the league, the lowest sack rate among all quarterbacks. 3.6%. He does have more of a league-average interception rate," Solak said. "If you look at deep accuracy since he entered the league, he is bottom-two, bottom-three in pretty much every metric they have: completion percentage, off-target rate, success rate, not a reliable deliverer of the football."

Solak credited Nix's mobility and how it helped the Broncos win some tight games last season, but he's mostly unimpressed with the young quarterback, putting him in the "Brock Purdy tier," who, for what it's worth, ranked five spots ahead of Bo at No. 15.

Making the Most of a Lackluster WR Room

As for Kimes's take, she pointed to Nix's off-target rates downfield, though she did highlight Denver's uninspiring wide receiver room last season, beyond Courtland Sutton.

"Bo, there's things that he's already obviously good at. I think the scrambling is important to mention. He avoids negative plays. The Broncos' offensive line is very good, but he's able to point-guard the offense, keep the ball out of harm's way, stay out of trouble, and keep the chains moving," Kimes said. "The biggest concern I have is just the off-target rates when he throws the ball downfield."

In the estimation of this ESPN duo, who took turns assembling these top-30 quarterback rankings, though Kimes and Solak were mostly in agreement across the board, Nix has to improve his off-target rates in order to climb into the top half of NFL signal-callers.

"I will say, that [off-target rates) did improve somewhat over the course of the season, and so I think part of the bet here —and I love getting him at 20, especially with [Jaylen] Waddle coming in—is if that improvement can continue? To me, that's what has to improve for him to leap into the top 15, to be an upper-half quarterback in the league. Because that was what ultimately held me back from putting him there."

Kimes pointed to the rough stretches Nix had in the first half of the 2025 season, which is true; he didn't start finding his rhythm until around Week 13, which is concerning, but he would still find a way to win games late. But she likes what the Broncos have done to surround Nix with an improved arsenal this offseason, especially the Waddle trade.

"So this is a year where they got him ready. Locked and loaded. Armed him up with Jaylen Waddle," Kimes said. "But I think I feel comfortable that he's kind of [at 20]—because you know what he's good at, and he also has, I think, some unique attributes. If he can just improve with that one thing, then you can easily imagine him [climbing the rankings], but that's a big thing to improve. We're talking about being accurate and throwing downfield, that's kind of a big part of the quarterback thing, so..."

Full Top 30 Rankings

1. Patrick Mahomes
2. Josh Allen
3. Lamar Jackson
4. Joe Burrow
5. Drake Maye
6. Justin Herbert
7. Dak Prescott
8. Caleb Williams
9. Jordan Love
10. Jayden Daniels
11. Matthew Stafford
12. C.J. Stroud
13. Trevor Lawrence
14. Jared Goff
15. Brock Purdy
16. Fernando Mendoza
17. Jalen Hurts
18. Kyler Murray
19. Sam Darnold
20. Bo Nix
21. Baker Mayfield
22. Cam Ward
23. Tyler Shough
24. Jaxson Dart
25. Bryce Young
26. Malik Willis
27. Daniel Jones
28. Geno Smith
29. Tua Tagovailoa
30. Aaron Rodgers

What it Really Means

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws a pass during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

In all honesty, Kimes and Solak make some fair points, even if the wider context of their quarterback rankings lacks intellectual consistency. Nix and the Broncos know the areas of his game he needs to improve on, and if he can, this offense will take a quantum leap forward in 2026, and it could change the conversation surrounding him.

Where their arguments begin to collapse in on themselves and lack objective consistency throughout the rankings, is having quarterbacks like Jayden Daniels (10), C.J. Stroud (12), Purdy (15), rookie Fernando Mendoza (16), Jalen Hurts (17), and Kyler Murray (18) ranked ahead of Nix.

Daniels and Purdy were hurt for a good chunk of last season, Stroud was painfully bad for most of it, Hurts took a pretty palpable step back, and Murray wasn't anywhere close to Nix's level. The ultimate discreditor of these rankings, though, is placing Mendoza anywhere inside the top 30. He hasn't even taken a regular-season snap yet.

Through this, we see a preconceived bias against Nix, and that's okay. As Broncos Country has been saying now for years, let 'em hate. It seems to fuel Nix and Payton, so let's not interrupt laughable offseason quarterback rankings like this when they could serve as bulletin-board material for the Broncos.

It's a bit galling for Broncos fans to see Maye, Daniels, and Caleb Williams ranked ahead of Nix, knowing that Bo has the best stats and the most wins among the 2024 quarterback class. Again, though, it's just more fuel for the fire.

The Takeaway

The exciting takeaway here is that, despite all that Nix has accomplished through his first two NFL seasons, he still has plenty of room for improvement. Hall-of-Fame quarterback Kurt Warner has spoken to this, specifically urging Nix to continue learning how to win from the pocket, and not be so quick to abandon his drop and run, which would allow the route concepts in the Broncos' offense to fully mature on a play-in, play-out basis.

That, according to Warner, is how the true big-play potential of the Broncos' offense will be able to blossom. As Nix works on these aspects of his game, fans can count on him to continue doing what he's already great at: avoiding the negative play, keeping the offense on schedule, moving the chains, and converting red-zone trips into touchdowns.

The results Nix has achieved through his first two years speak for themselves. He's already etched himself in the NFL record books, even if on a nano level, some pundits around the NFL choose to focus on his flaws.

Nix is the only quarterback in NFL history to win 20-plus games and pass for 7,500-plus yards and 50-plus touchdowns through his first two seasons. Mahomes didn't do that, nor did Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Maye, Daniels, nor Williams. That reflects how Nix's individual success has correlated with the Broncos' collective fortunes turning for the better.

The mark of a true franchise quarterback.

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