Bracing for who gets ranked ahead of Bo Nix on the NFL’s Top 100

The NFL’s annual top-100 players list has been trickling out in stages, and the Denver Broncos finally know where their franchise quarterback landed. Bo Nix came in at No. 59.

Not the top-50. Not the back of the pack. Right there in the middle. A ranking that manages to simultaneously validate everything Nix has accomplished and undercut it just enough to leave a bad taste in the mouths of the people who have watched him closest.

On a recent edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, fill-in host John Davis offered an initial reaction that captured the nuanced position most of Broncos Country finds itself in.

“I don’t get too angry at where Bo gets ranked on a lot of these things because I can see kind of where they arrive at that. I think that’s about appropriate for Bo Nix,” Davis said.

That is a measured take. No. 59 places Nix above established names like Trevor Lawrence and Lamar Jackson, quarterbacks with far more experience and far more national shine.

For a player entering his third year, that placement is a genuine reflection of how the league views him. The production supports it. Nix leads his entire draft class in touchdowns, passing yards and wins. Two consecutive playoff appearances. An AFC Championship Game. A résumé that very few young quarterbacks in the modern era can match through two seasons.

But Davis also acknowledged the case for something higher.

“I do wonder if it should have been higher. When you see a guy get his team to the AFC championship, he breaks his ankle, and they can’t do much without him in there. Maybe that ranking should be a little bit higher than 59,” Davis said.

That’s the argument that stings. The Broncos were an AFC championship team because of what Nix did for them. The moment he went down, the season went with him. That kind of impact, the kind that is felt most acutely in its absence, should carry meaningful weight in a ranking that claims to identify the league’s best players.

Schlereth, however, wasn’t ready to be upset about the number itself. His frustration is being saved for what comes next.

“I’m not too upset about it. Now let me see who gets ranked way ahead of him. Like I’m gonna get irritated when Caleb Williams gets ranked way ahead of him,” Schlereth said.

That’s where the conversation shifts from acceptance to anticipation. Nix has outperformed every quarterback in his draft class by the most meaningful metrics available. More touchdowns. More yards. More wins. More playoff appearances. If the list eventually reveals that Williams, who has not matched any of those benchmarks, is ranked significantly higher, the disconnect between narrative and production becomes impossible to ignore.

Schlereth then pointed to the name that might bother him most.

“You know Jayden Daniels is gonna be ranked way ahead of him and he missed the majority of last year injured. Then, I’m gonna get slightly perturbed,” Schlereth said.

Daniels had a spectacular rookie season that took Washington to the NFC Championship Game. But injuries derailed his second year, limiting both his availability and his production. If a player who missed the majority of last season ends up ranked well above a quarterback who led his team to the AFC Championship Game in the same year, the ranking criteria become very difficult to defend.

No. 59 is fair. The morning show acknowledges that. But fairness is relative, and it depends entirely on who sits above you on the same list. Schlereth is keeping his powder dry. The names haven’t all been revealed yet. And when they are, the real debate begins.

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