Oregon Ducks: Bo Nix ‘in shock’ following loss to No. 5 Washington, but NFL stock still high
Bo Nix and the No. 5 Oregon Ducks came out in a Pac 10 showdown with Michael Penix Jr. and the No. 3 Washington Huskies on Friday night. In a 34-31 defeat, one of the NFL’s prize quarterback prospects came to the reality that his college season and career (pending a potential Bowl game) has abruptly come to an end.
Drained in disappointment, the Heisman Trophy candidate couldn’t do enough to lead his team to victory as they were on the road to a national championship. Penix Jr. and the Huskies were just a little better on the night, but Nix has a bright NFL career ahead and perhaps the loss will be a jolt of motivation for the Oregon quarterback who said after the game “you don’t prepare for losing.”
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix was stopped short of his ultimate goal
With the expectation to win engrained within him, Nix didn’t have his usual dominant performance, but he still threw 3 touchdowns while going 21/34 with 239 yards passing along with 69 yards rushing on the ground.
In all, Oregon battled to the end, but the reality of the season and his college career being over without a national championship had Bo Nix in shock.
“It was my goal my whole entire life to be a college quarterback and to play and to win a national championship,” Nix said, as transcribed by Oregonlive.com. “Even though that may be off the table and it’s not necessarily something that can be obtained anymore, it was still a goal and I worked for it every day.”
While it didn’t end with him raising a national championship trophy, Nix finished a dominant season with 4,4145 passing yards and 40 touchdowns. He also rushed for 228 yards for 6 touchdowns. In showing off his arm and mobility, Nix will be high on the radar for NFL teams hungry for a quarterback. The question is whether he’ll be a high first round pick or early Day 2 pick.
2024 NFL Draft: Best fits for Bo Nix
Depending on who nabs Caleb Williams and Drake Maye there are a few NFL teams that would be a nice fit for Bo Nix.
His best options to come in and produce right away would be with the Atlanta Falcons or the Las Vegas Raiders. Both of those teams have nice offensive pieces already in place and are in need for a quarterback.
As far as teams rebuilding, the New England Patriots stand out. If they decided to go with a tackle with their top pick or a playmaker like Marvin Harrison Jr., targeting Nix in the top of the second round could be a win-win for the Patriots.
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Like New England, the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals could also decide to go with a positional player high in the draft and target Nix later. Both of those teams have quarterbacks in Justin Fields and Kyler Murray who could impact the top of the draft depending on how they perform the rest of the season. The New York Giants are also a team to watch.
The New York Jets could also look to go quarterback in the first or second round even with Aaron Rodgers returning in 2024.