Ex-All-Pro Says Bo Nix Better Than Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye
There were five quarterbacks taken ahead of Bo Nix in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft - Caleb Williams (No. 1 to the Chicago Bears), Jayden Daniels (No. 2 to the Washington Commanders), Drake Maye (No. 3 to the New England Patriots), Michael Penix Jr. (No. 8 to the Atlanta Falcons), and J.J. McCarthy (No. 10 to the Minnesota Vikings).
And while they've all had varying levels of success, it can be argued that Nix has been the most successful of the group, which is exactly what recently retired All-Pro safety Justin Simmons, who played for the Broncos from 2016 to 2023, believes.
During an appearance on FanDuel TV's "Up & Adams" on Thursday, Simmons made the case that Nix has been disrespected by the national media compared to the rest of the 2024 draft class.
"No disrespect to any other quarterbacks, but from his class, [he's] like by far the best," Simmons said. "In his first two years of playing, all he did was get his team to their first playoff appearance in eight years - I would know - and then he immediately followed that up with an AFC Championship berth, which we all were bummed that he wasn't able to play in that, but he's just a winner. … What we're seeing happening is he's the best quarterback right now."
Host Kay Adams then asked Simmons point-blank if Nix was better than Williams, who led the Bears to just their third division title in the last 16 years, Daniels, who won the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 and led the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game, and Maye, who led the Patriots to an AFC Championship Game win over Nix's Broncos en route to Super Bowl LX last season.
"I think he's playing better than all of them," Simmons replied. "… Ultimately quarterbacks are evaluated by their wins, and that's just how we've always evaluated it. When you look at it from that perspective, I would ask everyone else to tell me [if they think he's the best]."
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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 5:15 AM.