The NFL offseason list season has officially arrived, and the latest quarterback rankings from NFL.com have already set Broncos Country on fire.
Around The NFL writer Nick Shook ranked Bo Nix 18th among the league’s 63 starting quarterbacks from the 2025 season.
He placed Nix in “tier three” despite a résumé that includes a 14-win campaign, eight game-winning drives and an AFC Championship appearance
Shook wrote that “Bo Nix didn’t find a true sense of consistency until after Thanksgiving, diluting his overall 2025 résumé.”
He did add that fans “have plenty of reason to be excited” if his late-season surge is a preview of what’s next.
That explanation did not sit well with Denver media.
Sports Illustrated Broncos reporter Zack Kelberman made his feelings clear on X:
“This is what having an agenda looks like. Bo Nix could walk on water and his critics would say it’s because he can’t swim.”
Kelberman didn’t mince words, blasting the ranking as absurd and practically insulting, “arguing that there objectively are not 17 better quarterbacks than Nix.”
He made it clear he thinks it’s ridiculous to rank someone that low after leading his team to the doorstep of the Super Bowl.
Bo Nix’s Production Doesn’t Match an 18th Ranking
The numbers alone make the No. 18 slot hard to swallow.
In 2025, Nix completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 4,210 yards, 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
He also added 385 rushing yards and five scores on the ground.
He started all 18 games and helped lead the Broncos to 14 wins, tied for the most in the NFL and good enough for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Nix outdueled Josh Allen in the divisional round and had Denver set up to host the AFC Championship Game before a late injury ended the run.
Nix led the NFL in game-winning drives in 2025 and delivered six fourth-quarter comebacks, including the playoff win over the Bills.
This further proves he was at his best when the moment was biggest.
Through two seasons, Nix has already passed for more than 7,500 yards and 50 touchdowns while surpassing 20 total wins.
This is something no quarterback in league history had done in his first two years.
Yet Shook placed him behind names like Baker Mayfield, Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love and others.
Ranking Nix 18th puts him in the bottom half of the league, and that’s nowhere close to accurate.
Broncos and Bo Nix Still Fighting National Disrespect
The pushback goes beyond raw stats.
Many in Denver believe Nix is still paying for pre-draft narratives that labeled him a reach at No. 12 overall.
As a result, every misstep is magnified, while other quarterbacks are granted the benefit of the doubt.
There is also the Sean Payton factor.
Critics often credit Payton for Nix’s success, as if thriving in a quarterback-friendly system somehow counts less.
All season long, Nix and the Broncos were brushed aside by much of the national media and rarely taken seriously despite their record and performance.
Even after their playoff run ended because of injury, that same disrespect has followed them straight into the offseason.
Broncos’ Bo Nix Disrespected by End-of-Season NFL QB Rankings