Broncos QB Bo Nix Breaks Silence on Winning Third Straight ROTW Award

The Denver Broncos rookie's eye is on a different sort of prize.

Nov 24, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) warms up before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

There's an enormous amount of hype and media scrutiny suddenly surrounding Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix. He flew under the radar for the first quarter of the season, but in the next frame, he was named Rookie of the Month (October).

Since then, Nix's stock has steadily risen within NFL media circles, and after winning his third straight Rooke of the Week award, it's perhaps reaching a critical mass. Meaning, it'll either explode and slowly regress back to a modestly rookie mean, or he'll blast through this current ceiling and enter another stratosphere.

Even star NFL quarterbacks like Joe Burrow are praising Nix and putting his name on a level with the likes of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and even Patrick Mahomes. That's the outside view, including my theory about Nix's critical mass.

Internally, Nix's view is quite myopic — centered solely on the next matchup, which happens to be a Monday Night Football throwdown vs. Jameis Winston and the Cleveland Browns. For now, Nix isn't allowing himself to focus on the praise and accolades.

“Not really. All I can focus on is the next game [and] the next opponent," Nix said on Friday. "What I can do to win, what I can do to help the team win and right now it’s just executing."

Nix has been in the limelight, so to speak, for many years. Although the NFL is a whole different ball-game, this isn't his first rodeo, having traversed the deep waters of the SEC and PAC-12.

The rookie recognizes that the off-field media and fan buzz will always be there. It is the NFL. But if a quarterback isn't playing well, that media worm can quickly turn.

"There’s always going to be the off-the-field things," Nix said. "It doesn’t matter if you don’t play well. All I’m concerned about right now is the next opponent and that’s Cleveland. We just have to play well and continue to do the things that we’ve been doing the past couple of weeks leading up to this game.”

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These are the platitudes of a seasoned veteran, not the traditional rookie. Perhaps that's due to Nix's relative age (24) and experience, having entered the NFL as the most experienced college quarterback to ever come out of the draft. His 61 career starts remain an NCAA record.

That explains a good chunk of Nix's mature perspective. But the greater part is simply the kid's character. He eats, sleeps, and breathes football, and his IQ for the game is off the charts.

That mental processing, combined with his arm and singular athletic gifts, combines to forge a particularly striking quarterback image. Nix may have been the sixth quarterback off the board in the 2024 NFL draft, but he's worked his way into the pole position.

With what amounts to being the final quarter of the season left to be played, Nix now has the chance to complete his leap-frogging of No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders, and win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Daniels has long been the presumptive favorite to win ORoY.

Considering how long the Broncos have been wandering the quarterback desert, such an achievement would be manna from football heaven to the fans and the team at large. But to Nix, the greater accomplishment will be leading the Broncos back to the playoffs, where the team hasn't appeared since it hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl 50.

Remember Nix's words to Payton when he received the call on Draft Day to inform him that the Broncos were about to select him? To Payton, Nix said, "Do you wanna win a Super Bowl?"

When Bo Nix got the call from the Broncos that they were drafting him..

"You wanna win a Super Bowl" 🥶 pic.twitter.com/bnU5lH5J5v

— Football’s Greatest Moments (@FBGreatMoments) November 26, 2024

Such a prospect sounded like a dim possibility that was likely many years down the road for Nix and the Broncos. Suddenly, it doesn't seem so far away.

On the season, Nix has completed 64.9% of his passes for 2,548 yards and 16 touchdowns, with six interceptions. He's also the Broncos' second-leading rusher with 300 yards and four additional touchdowns, and he even scored as a receiver in Baltimore.

Nix's 21 total touchdowns are the most among NFL rookie quarterbacks. And one of his latest achievements puts him on the level with multiple quarterbacks either enshrined or bound for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's kinda scary.

Nix joined Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks during a 10-game stretch of a season to have 20 or more total touchdowns and two or fewer turnovers. Let that sink in.

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