Ranking the NFL Starting Quarterbacks
#32 Bo Nix (Denver Broncos)
When you’re the 6th quarterback taken in the draft and it’s your rookie season, the only spot that makes sense on this list is dead last.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Nix won’t develop into the something good. He’s a perfect fit for Sean Payton’s system. As I wrote just after the draft, Nix is “a quick decision-maker who gets the ball where it’s supposed to go and plays within the framework of the offense.”
A large component of Oregon’s passing game was RPO-based, which requires the quarterback to read and react quickly. This was something that Nix was comfortable and also highly effective doing. You don’t complete 77.4% of your passes with a 45-3 TD-INT ratio (as he did last season) in that type of offense without the ability to recognize, process, and make snap decisions.
Those traits bode well for being able to succeed in the NFL, and particularly in Payton’s system.
When the timing of the play is there and Nix has a clear and defined place to go with the ball, he can execute an offense at a high level. But if he has to hold the ball or work through his reads late in the play, he tends to struggle.
Nix can make up for some of his late-in-the-down struggles with his ability to scramble and make accurate throws on the run, but this is an area of Nix’s development that we’ll be watching closely. NFL defenses are too good to allow quarterbacks to have consistent success getting the ball out to their first read.
Despite Nix’s experience (he set an NCAA record with 61 career starts in college) and ability to make quick decisions, it could take some time for Payton to mold him into his type of quarterback. His physical skills aren’t overwhelming, and since he’ll have to rely on what’s between his ears to conquer NFL defenses (which is an area where no rookie quarterback has an advantage), it’s hard to argue he should be higher than 32 on this list right now.
Check out the rest of the rankings here:
#32 Bo Nix (Denver Broncos)
#31 Drake Maye (New England Patriots)
#30 J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings)
#29 Gardner Minshew (Las Vegas Raiders)
#28 Will Levis (Tennessee Titans)
#27 Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns)
#26 Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts)
#25 Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers)
#24 Daniel Jones (New York Giants)
#23 Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders)
#22 Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears)
#21 Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks)
#20 Russell Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers)
#19 Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints)
#18 Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
#17 Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)
#16 Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars)
#15 Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)
#14 Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins)
#13 Kirk Cousins (Atlanta Falcons)
#12 Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)
#11 Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers)
#10 Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers)
#9 Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys)
#8 C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans)
#7 Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
#6 Aaron Rodgers (New York Jets)
#5 Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)
#4 Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
#3 Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
#2 Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
#1 Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)