Bo Nix Electrifies AFC West: Rookie QB Sparks Division’s No. 1 Status in NFL Rankings!

In the NFL, the quarterback position is a make-or-break for a franchise's success. The AFC West boasts some of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL, with Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert leading the charge.

Bo Nix had a stellar rookie season, and Geno Smith is underrated, having played behind a god awful offensive line in Seattle. NFL.com’s Nick Shook agrees, listing the AFC West as the NFL's best quarterback division, with the Denver Broncos' signal-caller ranked as the 20th-best overall.

“Surprised? I was, at least a little bit. We knew Mahomes and Herbert would lift this division's overall ranking to a certain level, but the true linchpin of the group is the new student in the class; not only did Smith's acquisition by the Raiders give Las Vegas a legitimate starter, it also filled out the league's strongest quarterbacking division entering 2025," Shook wrote. "I haven't forgotten about Nix, who flirted with end-of-year awards consideration in 2024, even as a bit of a tumultuous late-season stretch reminded us of the challenges that face every rookie. Nix married quite well with coach Sean Payton, helped the Broncos return to the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade and positioned Denver for a very optimistic 2025. If he keeps it up, he'll climb the ranking and confirm the supremacy of a division otherwise populated by proven veterans.”

Placing Mahomes 7th, Herbert 11th, and Smith 12th certainly boosts the division's ranking, but Nix’s phenomenal rookie year took them over the finish line. Nix had 34 total touchdowns in 2024, 29 of which were passing scores, only two fewer than Herbert in his rookie year back in 2020.

Nix also earned the AFC Offensive Player of the Week (Week 18), Offensive Rookie of the Week (Weeks 10 through 12), Offensive Rookie of the Month (October), and was a finalist in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.

With another year under Sean Payton and a new-look offensive supporting cast, including tight end Evan Engram and rookies RJ Harvey and Pat Bryant, Nix has an obvious path for growth. Nix willed the Broncos to the postseason for the first time in eight years, alleviating the massive weight of prior losing seasons and quarterback follies.

Nix may be the youngest quarterback in the division, but he’s already making waves the size of tsunamis. If he continues to grow and develop the way Broncos fans believe he can, the AFC West will undoubtedly be the strongest quarterback division in the NFL by a mile.