NFL

Horse Tracks: Is Bo Nix the 18th best QB in the NFL?

Horse Tracks: Is Bo Nix the 18th best QB in the NFL?

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 12: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills and Bo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos meet on the field after their game during the AFC Wild Card Playoffs at Highmark Stadium on January 12, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York.

(Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) | Getty Images Good morning, Broncos Country! Well, another silly ranking is out and the outrage is building.

According to NFL executives and coaches, who have been asked to rank the best players at every position right now, our best quarterback doesnt even crack the top half of the league.

Bo Nix, they believe, is the 18th best quarterback in the NFL.

And the best QB is the guy Nix outplayed in the playoffs last season.

Went head to head with the guy ranked number one in the postseason and not only beat him, but outplayed him.

But yeah, around 18th https://t.co/8CChAri8aL MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) July 13, 2026 The top five were predictable Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.

The next five were somewhat perplexing choices, picking Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert at No.

6 and 7 seemingly for their names rather than their recent performances while Drake Maye slid in at No.

8 and Jared Goff took the ninth spot.

Then it was another QB from Nixs 2024 draft class that rounded out the top 10 Caleb Williams.

Since these rankings mean nothing and the reasons for the coaches and executives individual choices are relatively unknown, varied and biased, debate over the list is worthless.

But still kind of fun.

Because whats more motivational before training camp than to have your franchise QB be discounted? A quarterback who essentially saved the team (along with help from his head coach and GM) from spiraling into Jets-level irrelevancy? Almost nothing.

Nix may or may not be a top 10 QB in the NFL based on all the metrics (I believe he is), but to say hes in the bottom half of the league when hes gotten the team to the playoffs his first two years in the NFL, and likely would have gotten the Broncos to the Super Bowl last year if not for an unfortunate injury in the closing moments of the Broncos 33-30 divisional round playoff win over the Bills, is insane.

Its clear the Mahomes and Burrow picks in the top 5 were just lazy.

Of course those guys are great quarterbacks, but neither had a top-five QB kind of season in 2025, certainly not better than Nix.

And Maye and Williams are decent choices for top 10 consideration, but again, Nix should have definitely been in the conversation for which one of those Class of 2024 QBs makes the top 10 and I dont know how Nix doesnt beat out Williams for that spot.

Nixs eight fourth-quarter comebacks and 10 come-from-behind wins in his first two years as a pro are no fluke.

Beating Josh Allen and the Bills in the playoffs should have put him in serious contention for top 5 even.

But truthfully, I love when our rankings become bulletin board material.

Nix and the Broncos have a tough season on the horizon and nothing is worse for that than overconfidence.

So a little motivation for not being taken seriously isnt always a bad thing.

#Broncos QB Bo Nix received some top 10 votes after last seasons performance.

He certainly looked like a top QB when he out-dueled Josh Allen in the Divisional Round https://t.co/XLBG5xKroq Ryan Edwards (@redwardsradio) July 13, 2026.