Broncos Rookie Compared to $212 Million QB, Former No. 1 Overall Pick

Getty Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.

In the lead up to the 2024 NFL draft, you didn’t need to be a football expert to know the Denver Broncos were almost certainly going to take a quarterback.

What the Broncos probably didn’t anticipate was that they were going to be part of the greatest run on quarterbacks in the first round of the draft in over 40 years.

When it finally came time for them to pick, they landed on Oregon’s Bo Nix at No. 12 overall — the record-tying sixth quarterback taken in the first round.

Just 8 games into the 2024 regular season, Nix seems to be coming into his own. He’s also drawing comparisons to one of the NFL’s best at his position coming off Nix’s best game as a pro after he went 28-of-37 passing for 284 yards and 4 total touchdowns — 3 passing and 1 rushing — in a 28-14 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 8.

That the Broncos are 5-3 and in the playoff hunt is another plus for Nix, who leads the Broncos into a highly-anticipated matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9.

“(Nix) can win in a lot of different way,” former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert said on “Good Morning Football” on November 1. “He made some Top 5 NFL quarterback type of throws (against the Panthers). I’m excited to see what he can do once the Broncos build around him. I think he can be good for a long time.

“Bo, more often than not, just give him some open space and he’s going to make take advantage of it. That reminds me a lot of Jared Goff, who is great when you give him some open space as well.”

Goff Didn’t Take Straight Line to NFL’S Elite QBs

Nix’s rookie season has been a cake walk compared to what Goff went through after the Los Angeles Rams drafted him No. 1 overall out of Cal in the 2016 NFL draft.

Goff went 0-7 as a starter as a rookie but bounced back with back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons in 2017 and 2018 and went 24-7 as a starter in that stretch. While the Rams ultimately gave up on Goff and traded him to the Detroit Lions in exchange for another former No. 1 overall pick in Matthew Stafford before the 2021 season, Goff has experienced a career resurgence in Detroit that few could have anticipated.

After going 3-10-1 in his first season with the Lions in 2021, Goff responded with another Pro Bowl season in 2022 and led Detroit to the NFC Championship Game in 2023 and cashed in with a 4-year, $212 million contract extension in May 2024.

Nix is playing on a 4-year, $18.6 million rookie contract.

Nix Compared to Another Pro Bowl QB Before Draft

Nix’s journey to being a first-round pick was similar to Goff’s journey to becoming an elite NFL quarterback. Nix was the No. 1 overall quarterback recruit in the nation coming out of Pinson Valley (Alabama) High School and was the SEC Freshman of the Year at Auburn in 2019.

Nix spent 2 more turbulent seasons at Auburn before he transferred to Oregon and turned himself into one of college football’s best players and a top NFL prospect. He capped his career by leading the nation in pass completions (364), pass completion percentage (77.4) and passing touchdowns (45) in 2023.

In his pre-draft evaluation of Nix, NFL analyst Lance Zierlein compared Nix to 4-time Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo.

“Rare five-year starting quarterback whose play has matured in front of our eyes,” Zierlein wrote. “Nix displays the accuracy, arm talent and athleticism consistent with today’s brand of pro quarterback … Nix appears more than ready to attack the league with an NFL-caliber skill set.”