Photo: Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire

Bo Nix

6-2, 214, Denver Broncos QB

Overall Grade: 6.3

Scouting Report by Bryce Rossler

Summary

Nix is an athletic, gun-shy backup with sufficient accuracy, whose comfort in the quick game is offset by his apprehension to consistently challenge the second-and third-levels of the defense.

Bo Nix is a two-year starting quarterback at Oregon after playing his first 3 seasons, including the 2020 COVID year, at Auburn. In all, Nix played in and started 61 career games. The Ducks were primarily an 11 personnel spread team with a gap-heavy run game and a passing game that emphasized low and high horizontal stretch concepts, with lots of screen and RPO elements. He missed the final 3 games of the 2021 season with a broken ankle. Nix is a good athlete who has the speed and elusiveness to threaten a defense when needed. He has a sufficient build for the position. He is visibly emotional on the field and is a tough competitor, with players rallying behind him at Auburn and Oregon.

Pass Game

Nix displays sufficient footwork and a compact release. He is a good, efficient processor in quick-game concepts, particularly against zone coverages. He demonstrates mediocre anticipation against man coverage and has to see the break to trigger. He is generally avoidant of challenging “NFL open” windows downfield and tends towards checking it down. He works with good eye discipline to hold safeties, and he maintains downfield vision while climbing the pocket or breaking contain. Nix displays sufficient accuracy to the first and third levels of the field, but did not  target the intermediate MOF. His ability to make layered throws to that area is a question mark. He has good body control and flexibility to access different arm slots and throw off-platform. Nix looks uncomfortable working from tighter pockets and has a tendency to spray the ball with pressure in his lap. He has sufficient arm strength, but might  struggle to consistently make some of the more difficult throws in the NFL (e.g. field outs/comebacks, seams, layered throws into dig windows, fades vs. Cover 2).

Run Game

Nix is a good athlete with the requisite speed to be deployed in QB run game, and he successfully executed zone and gap schemes at Oregon. He has a good burst to get to the corner and is generally more of a one-cut runner than an elusive open-field threat. Nix protects himself and does not typically lower the shoulder to challenge in space. He is unlikely to be consistently effective at sneaks at the NFL level due to his build and lack of power.

Last Word
Nix projects as a quality backup at the next level who has enough ability to be an effective quarterback in standard down-and-distance situations, but will struggle in obvious dropback situations when teams tend to play tighter coverage and/or dial up pressure. He is proficient in the quick game, but his accuracy will not help optimize YAC, which is not ideal for West Coast offenses that would otherwise suit his skillset.

Critical Factors

On 1-9 scale

 Positional Factors

Strengths

Weaknesses