Six quarterbacks were drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Denver Broncos drafted Bo Nix 12th overall. Two seasons later, let’s re-examine the pick for the Broncos. In Year 1, the Broncos went 10-7 and lost to the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs. Below are Nix’s numbers.
17 games: 66.3% completion percentage, 3,775 yards, 29:12 TD-to-INT ratio, 6.7 yards per attempt and a 78.2 PFSN QB Impact Ranking.
In Year 2, there’s no fall off. The Broncos are 6-2, atop the AFC West, heading into a matchup against the Houston Texans in Week 9. Combined, Nix is 16-9 as the Broncos QB in the regular season. Nix’s 2025 numbers below.
8 games: 62.8% completion percentage, 15:5 TD-to-INT ratio, 6.3 yards per attempt and a 75.8 QBi.
Bo Nix’s Numbers In Context With His Draft Class
Stats are only as good as the context, so let’s stack up Nix with the other five QBs drafted in 2024. As far as touchdowns, it’s not close. Nix totals 52, 12 more than the next QB from the 2024 NFL Draft. Jayden Daniels is No. 2 with 40. Drake Maye is No. 3 with 34, while Caleb Williams is fourth with 31. Michael Penix and J.J. McCarthy both have less than at least a season’s worth, 17, of starts to judge.
Through two seasons, here are the aforementioned four QBs’ passing stats heading into Week 9.
- Bo Nix (25 starts): 65.1% completion percentage, 5,578 yards (223.1 yards per game), 44:17 TD-to-INT ratio, 6.5 yards per attempt and a 92.5 passer rating
- Jayden Daniels (22 starts): 67.1% completion percentage, 4,599 yards (209 yards per game), 33:10 TD-to-INT ratio, 7.3 yards per attempt and a 99.5 passer rating
- Drake Maye (20 starts): 70% completion percentage, 4,302 yards (204.9 yards per game), 30:13 TD-to-INT ratio, 7.6 yards per attempt and a 100.4 passer rating
- Caleb Williams (24 starts): 62.3% completion percentage, 5,177 yards (215.7 yards per game), 29:10 TD-to-INT ratio 6.6 yards per attempt and a 88.5 passer rating
It’s not a hot take to say Nix should’ve been the 1.01 in the 2024 NFL Draft. Results are starting to settle, as it takes two seasons to judge a draft pick. In addition, the biggest jump, like with Maye, comes in Year 2. In other words, if a player doesn’t break out before Year 3, they’re likely a bust. You want to get Year 1 out of the way like a rough draft, so we’re weighing Maye’s second season much more than his first.
It’s reasonable to think the 2024 draft should’ve gone Maye, Daniels, Nix, and Williams in that order. Nix shouldn’t have been the 12th overall pick; he’s the third overall pick at worst in a redo.
Closer Look At Drake Maye And Bo Nix
EPA is an advanced stat standing for expected points added. In other words, how likely a team is to score on a play-by-play basis. Let’s lift the hood of the car to see how Maye and Nix stack up.
End of 1H EPA/Dropback
- Drake Maye: 0.53
- Bo Nix: 0.17
Opp. 1H EPA/Dropback
- Drake Maye: 0.31
- Bo Nix: 0.14
EPA/Dropback
- Drake Maye: 0.12
- Bo Nix: 0.05
Yards Per Attempt (Cumulative)
- Drake Maye: 7.0
- Bo Nix: 6.3
Clean EPA/Dropback
- Drake Maye: 0.33
- Bo Nix: 0.20
Pressured EPA/Dropback
- Drake Maye: -0.25
- Bo Nix: -0.35
When you factor in rushing, both QBs are mobile, the edge tilts into Maye’s favor. Maye, Nix, Daniels and Williams’ career QBi are below as well. QBi is a performance score that combines a quarterback’s passing and rushing efficiency exclusively at PFSN.
- Drake Maye: 87.4
- Jayden Daniels: 87.0
- Bo Nix: 80.0
- Caleb Williams: 69.3
Nix makes his case as the best QB of the 2024 NFL Draft. But the numbers side with Maye, though.
