Earlier this week, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix made his debut appearance on NFL Network's Top 100 Players of 2025 list, checking in at No. 64. Broncos Country was elated, as Nix was the only 2024-drafted quarterback besides Washington's Jayden Daniels to make the list.
It's good to see Nix get some recognition. Of all the offseason lists, this one is more meaningful, as the players vote on it. Clearly, his NFL peers recognize and appreciate his 2024 body of work, which is great to see amid the vocal Nix critics who still somehow seem to dominate the bandwidth.
Nix appreciates the honor, but he's not satisfied with being the 64th-best player in the NFL.
“I’m kind of on both sides with it. I think it’s obviously a cool honor because that’s [what] your peers think, guys you play," Nix said following Saturday's training camp practice. "At the same time, just the way I think, the way I am motivated, I want to continue to get higher. Not even for the ranking."
Nix's drive and motivation pits him in a constant competition with the man in the mirror. But in a league of players, he's always competing with his peers, and that's healthy. But Nix wants to be the best quarterback walking the planet.
"It doesn’t really matter what you’re ranked," Nix said, "it’s just an internal standard that I have that I want to be the best in the world. I know there are a lot of guys that I’m competing for that with. I’m not going to stop until I at least give it my best try.”
A Harbinger
So far, so good. Nix was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. He won the open quarterback competition out of training camp, becoming the first rookie to start a season-opener for the Broncos since John Elway in 1983.
Nix would go on to produce one of the most prolific rookie quarterback seasons in NFL history. It was the luck of the draw that he happened to be drafted the same year as Daniels, whose sensational first year wasn't as historic, but he won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award nonetheless, leading the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game, where they came up short vs. the eventual World Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Nix's 29 touchdown passes were the second-most by a rookie in NFL history, behind only Justin Herbert's 31 (2020). Nix led all rookie quarterbacks in passing yards and touchdowns, finishing with 3,775 yards through the air.
Nix also rushed for 430 yards, scoring four times on the ground. He even caught a touchdown pass thrown by wide receiver Courtland Sutton, giving him 34 total scores for the season.
Nix was a bona fide producer, and it translated to wins for the Broncos. The team won 10 games and snapped its previous eight-year playoff drought. The league took notice.
It didn't end well in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs, as the Buffalo Bills trounced the Broncos. But that loss was educational, and it put a chip on the team's shoulder entering 2025, according to All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
Entering this season, Nix is an even more battle-tested quarterback than he was when he entered the league as college football's most experienced quarterback of all time, with 61 career starts. He added 18 more in his rookie season, counting playoffs.
In Nix's estimation, that experience puts him in a better position to lead and produce in Year 2.
“Just been there, done that," Nix said. "I know it. I can get there and do it, and knock it out and now I can focus on the next level of things and the details and not really the overall picture... So I’m excited for Year 2. I’m excited for this football team. I really like where we’re at right now. I love our teammates.”
Even at this early stage of training camp, the Broncos are champing at the bit to play somebody besides themselves. That opportunity comes on August 7, when the Broncos will hold joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers in California ahead of their preseason matchup that weekend.
The Broncos will also host the Arizona Cardinals for a joint practice on Thursday, August 14, ahead of their preseason matchup. Until then, the Broncos have no choice but to compete against themselves.
But that's how iron sharpens iron, after all.
