New Broncos QB Bo Nix doesn't want to hear about his supposed biggest weakness

The Denver Broncos used the No. 12 overall pick on a great, but controversial former college football star in Bo Nix out of Oregon in the 2024 NFL Draft. Nix spent five years in college. His first three were very much up and down at his father's alma mater of Auburn. After transferring to Oregon in 2022, Nix finally tapped into all of his potential. He benefited from their offensive system, but he still balled out.

When meeting with the local media after being drafted by the Broncos over the weekend, there were still some concerns about Nix's biggest perceived weakness, which is his deep ball. The thought was he was not asked to chuck it long all that much in Kenny Dillingham's and later Will Stein's Oregon offense. The ball may carry a bit more in Denver than in Eugene, but this is a cause for some concern.

Even if it is an area of his game he probably needs to work on, Nix does not seem fazed by this at all.

"Quite frankly, I completed a lot of long ones, too. I don't mind when people go back and watch the film. They can see everything they need to watch. That's here and gone. I'm excited to be here now and do whatever I need to do to win games. ... I'll do whatever the coaches ask of me and do it at a high level. I know if you do that -- statistically speaking watching other guys in the league -- if you do that you get to play and stick around for a long time.''

Not only will his ball carry more in the thin Colorado air, keep in mind who he is playing quarterback for. Sean Payton made himself a hall-of-fame-level coach by getting the most out of Drew Brees' overall limited arm strength. Like Brees coming out of Purdue, Nix's accuracy coming out of Oregon is one of his biggest strengths. Poise, precision and pocket awareness could all serve him in the end.

Denver has a lot of work to do, but for now, the fit for Nix with the Broncos actually kind of works.

Bo Nix shakes off his biggest perceived weakness during his intro presser

To me, I think his perceived lack of arm strength isn't Nix's biggest weakness. In Payton's system and with the right pieces around him, such as his former Oregon teammate Troy Franklin rounding out the receiving corps, a lack of arm talent can be overcome. What I don't think can be overcome is his relatively low ceiling. What you see is what you get with Nix, as he is almost a finished NFL product.

My NFL comp for Nix coming out was Derek Carr, a player I had a ton of respect for in Oakland and later in Las Vegas. He should have been a first-round pick coming out of Fresno State a decade ago, if not for his much older brother David Carr being a total bust of the Houston Texans. Carr was the same comp I had for C.J. Stroud coming out of Ohio State last year. Clearly, he was a better prospect.

Overall, the perceived lack of arm talent is not going to hurt Nix. He is incredibly accurate, plays within structure and can run a little bit. What will hurt him is Denver's inherently dysfunctional nature, as well as his ceiling not being anywhere close to what Patrick Mahomes is and what Justin Herbert still can be in-division. In a best-case scenario, the Broncos have the third-best quarterback in the AFC West.

Nix is not a perfect prospect, but I think people are barking up the wrong tree about his arm strength.