Bo Nix took the NFL by storm as a rookie.
Despite a strong pedigree of college success, Nix wasn't expected to immediately elevate the Denver Broncos.
That's exactly what he did, though. They made it to the playoffs in Nix's first season.
That has raised the bar for hype in Denver sky high. The AFC West is tough, but the Broncos are believers, especially after shelling out big money extensions this offseason for Zach Allen and Courtland Sutton.
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One analyst doesn't believe the times will always be rosy, though.
ESPN's Seth Walder wrote on Monday that, as a bold prediction, he thinks Nix will lose his starting job in 2027 and leave the Broncos at the end of that season.
"There's optimism around him now, but there's reason to be skeptical in the long term," Walder wrote. "As a rookie, his rushing led him to be decent efficiency-wise. But he ranked 28th in completion percentage over expectation (minus-2.4%) and 22nd in yards per dropback (6.16) despite playing behind a top-tier offensive line. The roster around him is great now, but it won't always be."
Those are some pretty harrowing numbers, to be sure.
Whether or not you buy into Walder's take probably depends on how much you think Nix can still improve in the NFL.
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He made a ton of starts in college, which may have set him up to be comfortable early in the NFL. But does that mean he actually doesn't have a ton of upside?
This season and the ones to come will tell us a lot.
Broncos fans certainly don't want to think at all about the prospect of Nix being gone. They'd much rather their rookie phenom turn into a decade-long star. But it doesn't always work out like that.
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