Bo Nix finds himself in fifth tier of Bill Simmons’ quarterback pyramid

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix showed the NFL that he was ready to compete off the jump in 2024. After two shaky starts to kick off his career, the rookie settled in and threw for 29 touchdowns and almost 4,000 yards as he helped lead the orange and blue to the team’s first playoff appearance since they won Super Bowl 50.

Nix has been getting more respect heading into his sophomore campaign than he was getting heading into last season,  but he still has some work to do to keep climbing up people’s boards. Despite the success in 2024, his completion percentage over expectation was -2.4% (28th in NFL) while he averaged 6.16 yards per drop back (22nd in NFL). He’s a good quarterback, but still has plenty of room for improvement.

The 25-year-old found himself in the fifth tier of The Ringer’s quarterback pyramid, right next to Las Vegas’ Geno Smith as the bottom-two quarterbacks in the AFC West. Patrick Mahomes was on the second tier while Justin Herbert was on the fourth. Other quarterbacks in the fifth tier are Sam Darnold, Drake Maye, Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa.

Allen over Mahomes?@BillSimmons has a new face at the top of his QB Pyramid. pic.twitter.com/40MYi6MoOd

— The Ringer (@ringer) August 11, 2025

Compared to the other quarterbacks in his tier, Nix only led the group in rush attempts and fantasy points. He had the second-worst completion percentage, yards per attempt and passing yards per game among the group. He did perform better than his other rookie counterpart, Drake Maye, but was in a much better situation in Denver than Maye was in New England.

How Denver's Bo Nix stacked up against the other Tier 5 QBs in 2024: https://t.co/KZ6MI4zDbc pic.twitter.com/noaq95pZUs

— Trent Finnegan (@trent_finnegan2) August 11, 2025

There is nothing that’s too blasphemous about this ranking. Nix is good, but has gotten lots of help from Sean Payton and his offensive line. Heading into year two, he has to make the leap. He hasn’t done enough to surpass any of the guys on the fourth tier quite yet, but he’s a young quarterback who has plenty of time to continue growing into a potential Pro Bowler. Most quarterbacks aren’t given respect in the NFL, they have to go out there and earn it.

Will Nix continue to blossom in his second year? Or will he suffer from the so-called ‘sophomore slump‘ that Sean Payton said he doesn’t believe in even though it really affected C.J. Stroud and Mac Jones in recent years?

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