The Denver Broncos drafted Oregon quarterback Bo Nix in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft with their eyes to the future. That Nix hasn’t been named the starter yet isn’t a total cause for concern … but it has started to raise a few eyebrows.
While Nix is still officially in a three-way race to start with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler thinks the Broncos already have one of the NFL’s worst quarterback situations headed into the 2024 season.
And that’s with Nix as the presumed starter.
“While Nix looks to be the guy for the short and long term, the Broncos have found themselves in quite the conundrum as training camp approaches,” Fowler wrote. “Three quarterbacks, one spot to start, each signal-caller with questions in abundance towards their overall performance ceiling.”
Fowler is perhaps the kindest NFL writer who ever lived when he states there are still questions about the performance ceilings for Stidham and Wilson. The thought of either even being the short-term backup to Nix should be a cause for concern.
Wilson Could Be One of NFL’s All-Time QB Busts
While Wilson can’t breathe the rare air of former NFL flameouts JaMarcus Russell (No. 1 overall, 2007) and Ryan Leaf (No. 2 overall, 1998), he seems on a path to take his place among the NFL’s all-time busts at quarterback sooner than later.
Wilson was the No. 2 overall pick by the New York Jets in 2021 and it’s fair to say that by the midway point of the 2022 season the verdict was in on his performance ceiling — low. Really low.
Rarely have NFL quarterbacks taken a public evisceration in recent years like Wilson did when he refused to take any of the blame for the Jets’ struggles in a 10-3 loss to the New England Patriots in which he went 9-of-22 passing for 77 yards, no touchdowns and was sacked 4 times for a loss of 33 yards. In total, the Jets had 103 yards of offense.
And in Wilson’s case it wasn’t so much of a case of what he said … but how he said it.
The Jets pressed Wilson into a starting role in 2023 after the plan was to have him as Aaron Rodgers’ backup but Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon in the first game.
In total, Wilson went 12-21 as a starter over three seasons before the Broncos traded a sixth-round pick in exchange for Wilson and a seventh-round pick and immediately declined his fifth-year option.
What To Take From Stidham’s Small Sample Size
If it boils down to the question of how many times you need to see a quarterback start to understand what type of player he is, Stidham probably has just enough experience to draw some conclusions.
Stidham is entering his sixth NFL season in 2024 but he’s made all four of his career starts over the last two seasons — he went 0-2 with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 and 1-2 with the Broncos in 2023.
In those four games, Stidham was 117-of-197 passing for 1,422 yards, 8 touchdowns and 8 interceptions with 4 fumbles while taking 19 sacks.
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