Bo Nix Delivers Historic Rookie Season, Cementing Broncos' Future

There's no question that Denver Broncos fans are feeling a bit lighter on their feet this offseason. All the strain and pressure of wandering the quarterback desert since Peyton Manning retired has been lifted with the historic arrival of Bo Nix.

Nix is a finalist for the A.P.'s Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and while it's expected to go to Washington Commanders phenom Jayden Daniels, it shouldn't take away from the Oregon product's year-one impact in Denver. Thursday will feature the NFL Honors ceremony where the ORoY award will be handed out, along with Defensive Player of the Year, of which Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II remains the frontrunner.

Being on the doorstep of the NFL Honors show, we have a great opportunity to shine a light on Nix's historic rookie season. How historic? Here are a few notes among many.

Nix had:

• Most games with 200-plus passing yards & two-plus touchdowns with zero interceptions in NFL history.
• Three games with three-plus passing touchdowns, the second most by a rookie in NFL history.
• 19 passing touchdowns at home, the most by any rookie in NFL history.

Nix also became the first Broncos rookie quarterback since John Elway to start the season-opener. Nix now shares quite a few franchise marks with Elway, including being the only rookie quarterback to start a playoff game besides the Hall-of-Famer.

Nix finished the season as a 17-game starter, passing for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. His 29 touchdown passes led all rookie quarterbacks, and were the second most in NFL history behind only Justin Herbert's 31.

Before a back injury slowed him down, Nix was on a rushing tear, totaling 430 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He also caught a touchdown pass, giving him 34 total scores on the season, also the most by a rookie quarterback in 2024.

Nix actually has a stellar argument to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. It'll go to Daniels, in all likelihood, because he was the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft and he led his team to a Conference Championship game as a rookie.

Daniels is very deserving, but so is Nix. If the ORoY award goes to Daniels, Broncos Country shouldn't get too twisted up about it.

After all, only one quarterback has ever won the ORoY award and also gone on to win a Super Bowl. That quarterback was Ben Roethlisberger.

Hats off to Nix for his tremendous rookie season. He proved Sean Payton right and has brought stability and dynamic production back to the most important position on the field for the Broncos.