Bo Nix keeps giving the Broncos reasons to believe, even if the outside noise refuses to catch up.
Through two full NFL seasons, Denver has 24 regular-season wins, a division title, a No. 1 playoff seed and an “almost” Super Bowl appearance to show for it. That’s a hard résumé to shrug off, especially when the argument against Nix has been around since before the 2024 NFL Draft. Still, the doubters are out there, and they’re not exactly backing down.
FanSided’s latest quarterback rankings for 2026 dropped Nix at No. 18, tucked into the “Strong QB1” tier. That label fits him, at least broadly, but the tier itself runs from No. 9 through No. 19, which leaves plenty of room for debate over where each passer lands.
Here’s how the top of that list shook out:
Tier 1 - Truly Elite
- Josh Allen
- Patrick Mahomes
- Matthew Stafford
- Lamar Jackson
- Joe Burrow
Tier 2 - High End QB1
- Drake Maye
- Justin Herbert
- Dak Prescott
Tier 3 - Strong QB1
- Caleb Williams
- Jordan Love
- Trevor Lawrence
- Jayden Daniels
- Jared Goff
- Baker Mayfield
- Brock Purdy
- Sam Darnold
- Jalen Hurts
- Bo Nix
- CJ Stroud
The reality is that this whole middle stretch can be shuffled in a dozen different ways, so Nix being 18th instead of, say, 12th probably isn’t the kind of thing that changes the Broncos’ day-to-day. But ranking him behind Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Baker Mayfield stands out.
Williams and the Bears had a strong 2025, but Denver won more games, and Nix was the more efficient passer. Williams also finished with a completion percentage under 60 percent.
Daniels, meanwhile, played only seven games last season, which makes the lofty placement harder to defend. Mayfield’s ranking is also a tough sell after he followed up his big 2024 with a noticeable step back, after moving through multiple teams for a reason.
Nix’s case is built on more than wins, too. He has been the engine for Denver, and he’s had to work through more mess than most quarterbacks. Since entering the league, he has dealt with 75 drops from his pass-catchers, the most of any quarterback and 15 more than the next closest player, Trevor Lawrence, who has 60, via Pro Football Reference.
He’s also played through some uneven offensive structure, including a now former play-caller in Sean Payton who kept changing personnel and, at times, didn’t really let the offense find its rhythm.
So no, being ranked 18th isn’t the end of the world. But for a quarterback who has already stacked wins and pushed Denver this far, it reads like another slight. And if Nix delivers again in 2026, the Broncos may get another season of proof while the goal posts keep moving.
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What makes this stretch interesting is that Denvers challenge is less about talent than about habits. The Broncos want more consistency, more takeaways and fewer of the late-season dips that have hurt them before, which means the next step has to come from detail and execution as much as personnel. For a defense with real expectations, the question is whether it can keep its edge long enough to turn a strong unit into a reliable one all year. [Read more 🡒]