The 2024 quarterback draft class was supposed to be legendary. The three top quarterbacks, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake May, were all going to lead their teams to multiple championships, or at least that was the forecast if you bought into the pre-draft hype.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way, though. All three quarterbacks have had their ups and downs, Williams especially, and instead it’s been Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix who’s been steadily rising, to the point where he’s getting mentioned as a possible top-three guy.
Nix, of course, was drafted 12th by coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton as the fifth member of that QB class, and the selection was roundly panned initially. Nix’s performance has been decidedly uneven at times, but many of the shortcomings that were initially mentioned are starting to go by the wayside.
Specifically, we’re talking about top-shelf production. Nix was originally assessed as a limited quarterback who would have trouble hanging with the rest of the QBs in the AFC west, most prominently Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers.
But Nix is starting to prove himself as a gunslinger of sorts in his own right. His throws aren’t always pretty, and Nix still goes through stretches where three-and-outs start to look like a way of life for the Denver offense.
Those stretches surfaced in the last three games of Denver’s current five-game winning streaks, but when Nix finds his touch, look out. He set multiple records in the Broncos’ 33-32 comeback win against the New York Giants, but is resilience was just as impressive during Denver’s 21-17 road win against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Nix is still perceived as something of a system quarterback who needs Payton’s savvy play calling and experience to succeed, but that’s changing. Ted Nguyen of The Athletic recently assessed Nix’s rank in the 2024 QB draft class, and he mentioned Nix’s issues attacking the middle of the field and the quarterback’s tendency to bail from a clean pocket.
They’re valid points, but Nix’s progress is undeniable, especially with the Broncos at 6-2 and sitting atop the AFC West. He still has two games against Mahomes and the Chiefs, though, not to mention another matchup with Herbert and the Chargers.
Those two games will go a long way toward determining where Nix lands in any rating of the 2024 QB draft class, but there’s no denying that the Broncos quarterback is making a big push toward the top of the class.