Recent trend suggests Zach Wilson usurping Bo Nix could be best for Broncos

The Denver Broncos might've won their game on Sunday to improve to 2-2 on the season, but that was in spite of Bo Nix, their starting quarterback. Nix completed just 12 of his 25 pass attempts for 60 yards. He threw his first career touchdown pass, but that was the only highlight in a slog of an afternoon.

It's good that the Broncos got that win and are back at .500, but in three of their four games, Nix has not shown that he has belonged at the NFL level as a starter quite yet. He has completed just 60.1 percent of his passes for 660 yards in four games, throwing one touchdown pass with four interceptions. The Broncos are where they are mainly because of their defense and in spite of Nix.

Benching Nix would not be an easy (or likely popular) decision for the Broncos, considering the fact that they just took him with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but it could be beneficial to Nix to sit for a bit and develop without the pressure of starting.

Benching Nix might be even more tempting considering the fact that, based on recent trends, the Broncos might have an enticing replacement for Nix.

Recent trends suggest Zach Wilson taking over as Broncos QB could be best for the team

Let's get this out of the way. Zach Wilson's run with the New York Jets after being taken with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft could not have gone much worse. He completed just 57 percent of his throws in his three seasons and had more interceptions (25) than touchdown passes (23). He had some great moments and displayed some of his immense potential at rare times, but for the most part, he was awful.

As discouraging as that might be for Broncos fans to hear, recent trends suggest Wilson's failures might've been more Jets-related than Wilson-related.

Sam Darnold's situation was almost identical to that of Wilson's. He was taken with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Jets and was traded after just three seasons in New York. He got a chance to start with the Carolina Panthers immediately after and got some valuable experience as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers, but with the Minnesota Vikings, he has been nothing short of tremendous, completing 68.9 percent of his passes and throwing a league-leading 11 touchdowns thus far. Oh yeah, the Vikings are 4-0 as well.

Sure, it's only four games, and Darnold learning as a reserve in San Francisco definitely helped in some way. It also helps that he's playing for Kevin O'Connell, a great offensive mind, and that he has Justin Jefferson to throw to. Still, we can't ignore this breakout after how awful he was.

Those who want a larger sample size can turn to Geno Smith, a player taken in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Jets. He had just two seasons as a starter and bounced around for several years as a reserve before settling in as a starter for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. Geno has been a Pro Bowler in each of his first two years as a starter, and so far this season, has completed 74.8 percent of his passes for the 3-0 Seahawks.

Darnold and Smith both had time in a reserve role, but have stepped in outside of New York and have been two of the best quarterbacks in the league thus far. Wilson hasn't had that time as a reserve, but again, could this be just a Jets issue?

Wilson, aided by Sean Payton's play calling and by playing for an organization that is not the Jets, might just have something in the tank. They traded him for a reason. Chances are, if the Broncos were ever to bench Nix, Jarrett Stidham would be the first choice as the starter, but perhaps the former Jets having success gives Payton the idea of giving Wilson a shot.