Jayden Daniels won the 2024 NFL Rookie of the Year award in a landslide. He authored arguably the best rookie quarterback campaign we’ve ever seen, so that’s not a surprise. Shockingly, though, he actually didn’t lead first-year passers in any quantitative passing statistic last season.
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Daniels threw nine interceptions, three more than Caleb Williams tossed for the Chicago Bears. He managed to outproduce Williams in touchdown passes (25 to 20) and passing yards (3,568 to 3,541). However, those numbers didn’t pace rookies because of Bo Nix.
Nix, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, played well for head coach Sean Payton. It took him a bit to get going, but he finished the regular season strong and wound up posting 3,775 passing yards. That figure, and his 29 touchdown passes, topped the rookie leaderboard.
2+ minutes of Bo Nix’s arm beating defenders to windows, working closing MOF windows, working far hash concepts and launching throws downfield. pic.twitter.com/Hgu5BgEATw
— Robby (@Robby_NFL) January 10, 2025
A massive differential in pass attempts helped Nix gain the upper hand in both categories. He threw 87 more passes than Daniels. Those extra tosses — and a Week 18 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs’ backups — allowed him to overcome Daniels’ edge in completion percentage 69.0% to 66.3%) and yards per attempt (7.4 to 6.7).
Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix looking for deeper playoff runs in 2025
Behind their strong showings, both Daniels and Nix oversaw playoff appearances for their franchises last year. Nix and the Denver Broncos were eliminated in the AFC Wild Card by the Buffalo Bills. Daniels experienced more success, carrying the Washington Commanders past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game.
It’s obviously much easier for Nix to take the Broncos further in 2025 than it is for Daniels to accomplish the same task for the Commanders. There are three more stages for him to traverse, but just one for Daniels. Regardless, both have their minds set on Super Bowl glory. And they’re well-positioned to be in the thick of things come January.
Both the Commanders (-155) and Broncos (-140) have DraftKings Sportsbook’s sixth-best odds (in their respective conferences) to make the playoffs. Washington must overcome Philadelphia to win the NFC East, so a division crown seems unlikely. The same can be said for Denver, who has the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers to contend with in the AFC West. Additionally, the Las Vegas Raiders are set to be a tough out.
The AFC’s quarterback star power makes any potential playoff paths Nix will face much tougher than those Daniels could see. But once you’re in the postseason, anything can happen. The Commanders kick off their slate by hosting the New York Giants at 1:00 p.m. E.T. on Sept. 7. The Broncos open against the Tennessee Titans the same day, at 4:05 p.m. E.T.
