Bo Nix is the fraud king of the NFL

Nobody in the NFL is like Bo Nix when it comes to masquerading as a decent player while putting up some of the most godawful performances imaginable. The fraud-king of football, Nix has coasted along on the back of innovative offensive playmaking and a brilliant Broncos defense to create the perception that he’s better than average, when in reality he’s so poor that when Denver falls apart this season — and they will, he will be the sole reason for their demise.

Nix is putting up a legendary season when it comes to futility. Through six games he’s averaging just 4.9 air yards per attempt, and on Thursday Night Football his longest completion traveled 7.6 yards through the air. The Broncos QB was 0-for-3 on pass attempts longer than 10 yards, with a passing chart that would be embarrassing in a game of beach football, let alone the NFL.

Nix’s 4.9 air yard statistic is the lowest through six games in the last 20 years of NFL football. In the second half on Thursday his average pass distance was behind the line of scrimmage. Mastering the art of the glorified handoff, there is no verticality to the Denver offense, and Nix seemingly had zero interest in pushing the ball downfield, even when the game requires it. Instead he sits in the pocket, cherry-picks easy receptions, and if a pass appears to be even remotely difficult, he’ll throw it away. Through six games Nix has thrown away 15 times, putting him on pace for 43 throwaways this year, but it’s less about that raw number and more about how he throws the ball away, not as a product of pressure or intelligence — but fear and cowardice.

Yet there’s still a vocal contingent of football fans who are isistent that Nix is an elite quarterback, which is due to three factors:

It’s so frustrating because the Broncos are an elite team forced to present itself as a good one, simply because Nix is so incredibly gifted at dragging them down. It’s maddening to anyone who loves the game of football, and that’s what spurred Ryan Fitzpatrick to go off on Nix’s play in the postgame of Thursday Night Football.

“Bo Nix is not playing competitively. It’s almost disrespectful to the quarterback position, how he’s playing football. Frst of all: The guy doesn’t want to throw the ball, that’s fine. He’s throwing to the flats, he’s throwing behind, but he has no trust from his coach. He calls a screen play on 3rd & 8, just run up and let the clock keep going. What’s he do? He throws it away. Seattle gets the ball, they have a timeout. And then in overtime, he’s got two chances to be competitive. The last one being a designed run for him to run, make somebody miss, and get a first down for your football team! Now, they’re in the locker room right now, they’re excited, they won. He’s not playing competitive football right now.”

Fitzgerald went on to say he can only imagine how Sean Payton and Davis Webb feel as his coaches, while the offensive line has to block for a guy who blatantly refuses to even try and help them win games. It’s harsh, but fair — because Nix is both costing his team the potential of being great, and damaging the earning potential of every pass catcher forced to play with him.

The Broncos are sitting at 4-2 right now, despite having the 28th-ranked pass offense in the NFL. They allow 20.8 points per game, good for 9th in the NFL — but only score 19.0, which ranks 26th. This is all because Bo Nix is under center, creating zero opportunities for this team to be successful on offense, dragging it all down to his level.

Nix’s charmed life of ineptitude will come to an end this season, likely in the playoffs, where teams get better, opposing quarterbacks rise to the occasion, and it necessitates rising up to at least match them. We saw this kind of leap in play from guys like Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, and Nick Foles — all of whom rose to the occasion and transcended their abilities. Nix, well, he’d rather not even try.