Joel Klatt: Bo Nix is an 'easy' first round selection in 2024 NFL Draft
Bo Nix just missed out on the top-five at his position in a set of quarterback rankings today by Joel Klatt. However, that does not take anything away from what he thinks that Nix can be as a player at the next level.
Klatt spoke about Nix as his No. 6 QB during an episode of his show on Monday. He made it clear that that spot was not a slight of him considering how highly he regards him as a player, especially compared to other quarterbacks who have gone high in recent drafts.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the guy that I have ranked sixth. The reason is is because I believe that this guy is going to get selected in the first round,” Klatt explained. “This is not a knock and, again, this is where people are going to be like, ‘How in the world did you leave him off?’. He’s only left off because the graphic has five players. I have six players in the first round and my sixth guy is Bo Nix.”
“Bo Nix from Oregon is a guy that I really love at this position,” said Klatt. “Now, is he as talented as some of these other guys? Maybe not. But if you looked at all those quarterbacks that were selected in the last 10 years? He’s better than a lot of those guys – a lot of them.”
Klatt’s main takeaway with Nix is his mind and cognitive ability at the position. He runs an offense quickly and efficiently because of that and is even able to take on more of a workload that others couldn’t based on his knowledge and experience.
“He’s more of a point guard and he’s a little bit more cerebral but his super power is that the ball is on target and on time,” said Klatt. “When you watch Oregon play? That ball left his hand perfectly in rhythm. That style of player is going to be a great fit for somebody in the NFL.”
“He is incredibly smart. Handled a lot of checks on the field that were checks that were not built in,” Klatt said. “Very rarely at the college level do you get carte blanche to just say, ‘I don’t like my look now. I’m just going to change to something that’s totally different based on the personnel group and formation that I’m in’. Not many guys get that. He had that ability at Oregon. That tells me that this guy, at least from a college perspective, is about as smart as they can possibly come, which you would expect from a guy that started 61 times.”
Over five years at Auburn and Oregon, Nix completed 66.4% of his passes overall for over 15,350 yards, 113 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions. He also rushed for over 1,600 additional yards and 38 more scores.
During his two campaigns in Eugene is when Nix truly took the next step excelled as a player, though. As a Duck, he completed nearly 75% of his throws for 8,101 of his yards to go with 74 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions.
Effectiveness is a word that comes to mind in regards to Nix’s game. That’s why, as a prospect in the NFL, Klatt sees his game fitting in well with a system like Denver’s considering what he knows personally about the Broncos’ head coach.
“I mocked him to Denver earlier at the 12th pick in the draft. He is a perfect fit for Sean Payton,” said Klatt.
“I went through installs with Sean Payton. I know how he coaches. Bo Nix is perfect for him – perfect for him. If I’m the Broncos? I would be ecstatic with a guy like Bo Nix,” Klatt said. “Ball is out on time, on target. You can have five blockers, five free releases, even on third down, third and short. He knows where the ball is supposed to go. It’s replacing blitzes, it’s going to the open area, it’s beating leverage. All those things are things that he did really well at Oregon.”
With several top quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft, Klatt doesn’t want anyone to think that this means that he’s down on Nix. He is, in fact, anything but as he fully expects to see him go somewhere on night one from Detroit.
“For me? Bo Nix is an easy first-round selection – easy first-round selection,” said Klatt.
“He’s mature, he’s a solid leader. Like I said, he’s highly experienced. His game translates to the next level,” Klatt said. “I know my list had five but I think six guys get selected in the first round because they should, because their talent dictates that they’re all first-round caliber quarterbacks.”