Horse Tracks: PFF’s ranking for Nix in 2025 is way too low

19th out of 32? I don’t think so.

Good morning, Broncos Country!

The idiots analysts over at Pro Football Focus don’t think too highly of Bo Nix as he embarks on his sophomore NFL campaign.

After having the most successful season of any Broncos rookie quarterback in history, Nix has somehow slipped under PFF’s radar. Of course, this is a theme of the PFF rankings this week as it ranked Courtland Sutton a ridiculous 31 out of 32 wide receivers and PFF’s Nik Bonitto at 23 for edge rushers.

The ranking, based on “a combination of recent performance and career trajectory,” once again puts Patrick Mahomes at the top, followed by an expected trio – Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.

But guess where Nix ranks?

Nineteenth. In the “Tier 4: Young players with a wide range of potential outcomes” category.

Essentially he’s the top of the bottom half of QBs in the league. Come on.

That may not sound terrible, but when you see which QBs are ahead of him — Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Kyler Murray, Geno Smith, Matthew Stafford — it feels like the guys at PFF didn’t actually watch last season.

Nix is nowhere near the polished quarterback of Mahomes or the other elite QBs, and CJ Stroud certainly found out that sometimes that second year isn’t as magical as the first, but I believe Nix definitely belongs in the top half of NFL quarterbacks.

Especially when Jayden Daniels gets a No. 6 “High-end starters” designation and Jordan Love earned “solid starters.”

From PFF:

“Nix had a strong rookie season, though it was somewhat overshadowed by Jayden Daniels’ historic campaign. If he can avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, the Broncos could be a serious threat in 2025. After a rocky start, including three sub-50.0 game grades in his first four outings, Nix found his footing, posting an 85.7 overall grade the rest of the way, sixth-best in the league over that span.”

Does sixth-best in the league the last 13 games of the season seem like bottom half of the league heading into Year 2?

No. No, PFF, it does not.

Looking over the rankings, I’d at least put Nix between No. 13-15, cracking the top half and knocking on the door to the “solid starters.”

But whatever. I don’t care about PFF or the rankings. My prediction is that Nix will actually be a solid starter and will improve upon his rookie debut as he absorbs even more of Sean Payton’s playbook, and the coach/QB develop even more chemistry.

Just like his rookie year, the run game and defense will be his best friends. By all accounts the Broncos’ top-tier defense got even stronger in the offseason, so put a checkmark by “good defense” for Nix’s continued improvement.

And with the addition of rookie running back RJ Harvey and a second year for Audric Estimé, the run game should be improved, adding another check mark. Offensive line coach Zach Strief has been promoted to run game coordinator/assistant coach, so let’s hope he can do with the rushing attack what he was able to do with the O-line since joining the coaching staff two years ago.

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