For a rookie, Bo Nix entered pretty late in the league. Some had qualms about his time at Auburn, others just admired him for his last season with the Ducks. However, the 24-year-old showed in the preseason game against the Colts that he’s having no problem transitioning to the NFL. His “dark horse” meme days are behind, and people are actually taking him seriously.

The infamous Auburn quote is surfacing once again, but with a different flavor. His teammates Courtland Sutton and Patrick Surtain II spoke to Kay Adams and brought up the same thing when the journalist asked Surtain: “Pat you’ve gone against Tua, you’ve gone against Jalen Hurts, what stands out about Bo Nix?”

“I just think he’s very composed. He understands the offense very well. Obviously, his chemistry with Court [Sutton], Tim [Patrick], Josh [Reynolds], and everybody, I think it stands out, and he’s taking command of the huddle, taking control. He’s just looking very confident. I just remember the first day he was here in the OTAs. He made a no-look pass and everybody was like, ‘Okay, he’s coming with that mojo, that swagger.’ But it’s good to see him coming in with that experience and that confidence. Speaks for itself,” said Surtain about the Broncos QB on Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams.

It may seem like a run-of-the-mill answer, but Nix has really impressed Broncos loyalists after the team won the preseason game against the Colts 34-30. Nix went 15-of-21 for 125 yards and even broke a 3-3 tie late in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims Jr. With no interceptions and an impressive passer rating score of 102.3, the six-foot-two QB also garnered three runs for 17 yards. In comparison, Jarrett Stidham—who started the game—had a 32.1 rating, 4 of 7 for 37 yards, an interception and no TDs.

So naturally, Denver’s star wide receiver Courtland Sutton couldn’t help but shower praise on Nix in a post-race conversation: “I think he handled it very well.(He) had a lot of poise, a lot of control.”

Transitioning from a college QB to an NFL QB is a daunting task. So far, Nix is adjusting just fine. However, is there a way to measure Tua’s and Hurts’ transition to the NFL? Tagovailoa, who recently scored a 4-year, $212 million deal with the Miami Dolphins had 1,814 yards, 11 touchdowns, five interceptions in 10 games during his rookie season. He also had an 87.1 passer rating. The Dolphins QBs first preseason game was in 2021 against the Bears, where he registered 99 passing yards and one interception.

“Tagovailoa put several balls on the money in tight coverage, especially on third downs en route to completing eight straight passes at one point. His calmness in the pocket was encouraging,” is what Kevin Patra of the NFL wrote about Tagovailoa’s first-ever preseason game. That pretty much aligns with Patrick Surtain’s assessment. However, Tagovailoa did have challenges adjusting to the NFL as a rookie.

“Well, I think last year for me, last year wasn’t – I wasn’t as comfortable just in general. I wasn’t comfortable calling plays. I think the guys that we had last year were phenomenal. I just didn’t have the comfortability of kind of checking plays, alerting plays and doing that,” the QB had mentioned in a conference call during Dolphins’ minicamp in 2021.

Up in Philly, Jalen Hurts has a convoluted relationship with preseason games. He has played only two preseason games in his career. Hence, his transition to the NFL is still not well documented. Joe Flacco did most of the heavy lifting, even in the preseason, when he was with the Eagles. Carson Wentz handled most of that season while Jalen Hurts was on a quest to find his “offensive identity.”

“It’s not good enough, simply put,” Hurts said of his rookie season. “A lot of it comes down to what we’re executing and what our identity is and how we want to be as an offense. That’s what we’re worried about: moving forward. Finding an identity.”

Hurts came out with a 52% pass completion rate in his rookie year—the worst mark among quarterbacks with 100 pass attempts. Only six quarterbacks had at least 100 attempts completed less than 60 percent: Sam Darnold, Wentz, Drew Lock, Joe Flacco, Jake Luton, and Hurts. But one thing that stood out for Hurts is his ability to make throws, a great example of his arm strength.

Speaking of arm strength, Bo Nix is not to be ignored. During the draft, there were concerns about Nix having noodle arms, but he’s not half bad. In fact, some even think that Nix is a standout talent in the 2024 class of QBs.

Will Bo Nix stay a starter for the Broncos?

That’s the most likely option right now. Nix is what Payton had been missing all along, a quarterback who can immerse himself in offensive schemes and has a quick release. There were momentary flashes of brilliance in his Oregon career, but analysts think that his decision-making has been erratic at times. However, Payton might be the guy who can help him improve on those problems.

A key challenge for Nix will be to maintain his pocket presence. Sure, he has athleticism, but he’ll have to make sure holding on to the ball for too long might doesn’t become a problem. Russell Wilson is the epitome of things going wrong because of extended plays. So Nix has to avoid that for sure. However, in the past, Sean Payton has gone so far as to compare Bo Nix to Drew Brees, his Super Bowl-winning protégé.

“I used to say this all the time: The sack numbers are a reflection more on the quarterback than the offensive line. Brees was one of those guys. He was a tough sack,” Payton said. “The ball came out, and I think Bo has traits like that.” But that’s not all. The Broncos HC thinks that Nix is as mentally tough as he is physically because of his extended college experience.

A notable thing about Nix is his average release time. At some point, Nix recorded a 2.5 second release time, and it’s ranked 4th in the NFL by Next Gen Stats. Drew Brees had an awfully similar release time of 2.57 at some point in his career. Even Payton also noted that Nix “locates the ball well, and he’s accurate” like Brees.

All in all, things are looking good for the Denver Broncos at this point. Nix has demonstrated everything that has been asked of him. As far as his command in the team goes, that remains to be seen. However, he has a good relationship with his receiver Courtland Sutton, which might take him a long way into the regular season.