Bo Nix is still one of those quarterbacks people can’t quite agree on, but the latest rankings give a pretty clear hint about where he stands. CBS Sports slotted the Denver Broncos passer in its “Borderline Stars” tier for 2026, placing him ninth overall among the 32 starters it listed.
That puts Nix behind Jalen Hurts, Sam Darnold and Caleb Williams in the tier, and ahead of Jayden Daniels, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Jordan Love, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Drake Maye and Trevor Lawrence. Above that group sits the “Transcendent Talents” tier, led by Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow.
The ranking matters less than the fact that Nix made the list at all, and made it high enough to stand out. It lines up with the split that has followed him through his first two NFL seasons: the believers see a franchise quarterback whose supporting cast hasn’t always matched his ability, while the skeptics point to an elite coach and defense carrying too much of the load.
The numbers back up the idea that Nix has done plenty of heavy lifting. He has helped Denver win 24 regular-season games over his first two years, and the source material says the Broncos likely would have reached the Super Bowl had he not broken his ankle in the 2025 playoffs.
The stat sheet, though, doesn’t tell the whole story. In 2025, Broncos pass-catchers had 43 drops, according to Pro Football Reference, with Courtland Sutton and Evan Engram tied for the team lead at eight apiece. Nix averaged 10.1 yards per passing completion that season, which means those drops cost him an estimated 434 passing yards.
That’s a brutal number, and it helps explain why his production has not always looked as clean on paper as it does on film. If Denver had only 25 drops instead of 43, his passing numbers would have looked a whole lot better.
Now the Broncos are giving him more help. With Jaylen Waddle in the mix and an offseason boost at running back and tight end, Nix is suddenly working with the best supporting cast of his young NFL career. That kind of upgrade could be exactly what pushes him to another level.
And that, really, is the story here: the wins are already showing up, the clutch moments are already there, and the talent is obvious enough that even a national ranking has him sitting on the doorstep of something bigger.
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