admin
The Oregon Ducks have been home to some legendary quarterbacks like Norm Van Brocklin and Dan Fouts, but those superstars came few and far between. Since the start of the 2010’s, the program has been consistently attracting elite talent at the position.
In the last 13 years, the Ducks have had the luxury of starting Marcus Mariota, Justin Herbert, Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel with just a few short gaps in between. Mariota didn’t have the most notable career, but Herbert and Nix have been on a great trajectory to this point in their careers.
John Kosko of Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL and Herbert and Nix both received some favorable placement.
Justin Herbert – No. 8
Kosko included tiers in the rankings and the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback was the last player grouped in the “High-End Starters” tier. His lack of playoff success and injury history are probably the main thing holding him back from reaching elite status. While Herbert has only missed six games in his career, he’s been hampered many more times by nagging injuries that he battled through.
He was one of the fastest quarterbacks in NFL history to reach 100 passing touchdowns and is on pace to be top 5 in multiple all-time categories by the time he retires. Herbert still has yet to win a playoff game in his five year career, but if he finally gets over the hump it could elevate him to the next echelon of quarterbacks.
Bo Nix – No. 19
The 19th best passer in the league may seem low for Nix, but he was the first player listed in the “Young players with a wide range of outcomes tier.” It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly the future has in store for the Denver Broncos quarterback because his rookie season was such a rollercoaster.
Through the first three weeks of the season, Nix had thrown no touchdowns and four interceptions and from an outside perspective it felt like Denver may be ready to hit the panic button early. However, he settled in with a few bumps along the way and was considered the second-best rookie quarterback by the end of the campaign.
Nix did have a few pockets of games where he was wildly inaccurate or couldn’t keep the ball out of harms way, but overall he shattered expectations. Heading into year two in head coach Sean Payton’s system, there is still plenty more room for the Oregon alumnus to grow.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
#Nix #Justin #Herbert #land
