Bo Nix's Latest QB Ranking Will Leave Broncos Fans Scratching Heads

Following the Denver Broncos' most recent 14-3 campaign and trip to the AFC Championship, there's been a wide range of opinions when it comes to evaluating Bo Nix amongst his peers as to where he stands as a top talent at his position.

Some might be bullish enough to place him within–– or at least close to–– a top 10 ranking. Others may see him on the outskirts closer to being a top-15 quarterback. And there's even some names that would throw Nix into the bottom half of the NFL's starting signal callers, despite the impressive second-year pro he's fresh off of.

As for Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame, who had just recently put together a new preseason ranking for the NFL's starting quarterbacks for the 2026 campaign, he seems to see Nix within that third grouping.

Bo Nix's Status as a Top QB Continues to See a Wide Range of Opinions

Verderame sorted through the NFL's starting quarterbacks by ranking them from No. 1 to No. 32, breaking down who he feels are the best and worst at the position before training camps are fully underway around the league.

For Nix, he ended up falling right outside of the top 16 quarterbacks, and instead slotted in at No. 18:

"Nix is a good player who was perhaps a broken ankle away from reaching the Super Bowl in his second year. He’s also a player who has thrown for more than 7.0 yards per attempt in 13 of his 34 regular-season games," Verderame wrote.

"Last year, Nix led the NFL with 612 pass attempts while throwing for 3,931 yards. The last quarterback to pace the league in attempts and not throw for 4,000 yards? Sam Howell in 2023. No other quarterback has achieved that feat in the last 20 seasons. Now with Jaylen Waddle as a running mate for Courtland Sutton, maybe Nix can produce at a top-10 clip."

It feels a bit weird having Nix in the spot that he ultimately landed in.

Nix finds himself just ahead of C.J. Stroud (19th), who had an abysmal end to his third season pro, Aaron Rodgers (20th) who's on the last leg of his NFL career, and Minnesota Vikings' quarterback Kyler Murray (21st) who's currently in a quarterback competition with J.J. McCarthy.

Jan 17, 2026; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates after winning an AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nix, while perhaps not as high as a top 10 guy just two years into his career, has surely graduated from that range of quarterbacks. He's a proven winner, led this Broncos offense to being one of the top half of NFL offenses for scoring and top 10 in yards gained, and while unable to reach that 4,000-yard mark in 2025, got pretty dang close to it at a total of 3,931 yards.

He also had his fair share of fourth-quarter comebacks led throughout his second season (6), one coming during the Broncos' divisional round matchup against the Buffalo Bills, which got Denver to their championship appearance in the first place. Had Nix been healthy, there's a good chance he could've led this group even further into the postseason as well.

Bottom Line

Maybe Nix doesn't deserve to reach into the top 10 until he can prove to be a better downfield passer and continue to prove his success year after year. However, there's a real case he could be placed above guys like Jalen Hurts, Brock Purdy, and Baker Mayfield before he even enters his third season.

If he got that respect in these rankings, he'd be right within the middle-of-the-pack, and within the top half of starting quarterbacks, rather than teetering on the edge of being outside of the top 20. That feels a bit more fair.

But instead, this can just add to the bulletin board material that the Broncos and Nix already have heading into a highly anticipated 2026 season.

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