Bo Nix doesn’t curse. But his rookie season was a giant middle finger to critics.

Sean Payton viewed him as the second-best quarterback in the draft behind Jayden Daniels. And Nix rewarded the coach’s faith by leading the Broncos to the playoffs for the first time since 2015, delivering 34 total touchdowns, six more than Patrick Mahomes.

And yet Nix remains a magnet for disrespect.

Google NFL quarterbacks and Nix almost never ranks in the top 20. One NFL.com list placed him behind Bryce Young. Neil Young, maybe. Bryce? Get serious.

My take on Nix is no secret. He is a franchise quarterback capable of winning a Super Bowl someday with upgraded weapons. The first installment of a running back and tight end will begin this offseason, if not this week with free agency.

And yet, the dim forecast for Nix remains. Those who panned him in the draft believe he is the next Mac Jones. It goes back to his ceiling. You’d think it was lower than the graffitied one at The Sink.

This is a tired trope.

There are reasons, though, no one valued Nix as highly as Payton did. He was older, for one. He threw too many dinks and dunks, for another. And his Auburn film was hard to unsee.

So what about now? The NFL combine provided a clearinghouse to ask national writers and analysts about Nix. My unscientific findings shed light on how he was viewed and why he is changing minds.

Well, not all of them. NBC Sports’ Chris Simms, a former Broncos quarterback, was a Bo-liever last April. What he saw in 2024 only hardened his stance.

“Last year, the big thing was age. Age, age, age. (Bleep) the age. He had experience. He was mature. He could handle a guy like Sean Payton. He aced all of the tests,” Simms said. “He’s legit. I am happy for Sean, the Broncos and Bo. To the people who doubted him, he’s Drew Brees Jr. in my opinion. I think he is a better athlete and that his arm is a hair stronger than Drew’s was in his prime.”

Nix is clearly headed in the right direction. Comparing him to Brees is premature, but the fit inspires confidence. Payton doesn’t deal in groupthink. He evaluated Nix based on how he was going to use him. What a concept: marrying a skill set with a vision for the player. Who knew?

Daniels looked like a unicorn in part because he was paired with offensive play-caller Kliff Kingsbury. The same is true of Nix and Payton. Those who get it, get results.

“You have a coach resolute in his belief and has the resolve to carry out the plan. There were some bumps early in the year, but there was never a question of who the quarterback was,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said. “I think Bo went to the perfect place. They are doing a great job of accentuating his strengths.”

And what are those exactly? Despite starting 61 games in two premier conferences, Nix inspired more questions than answers. When he left Auburn, NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell admitted, “He was awful. Maybe not even a draftable player.”

Getting benched in college will do that. But did they not watch him call his own protections at Oregon? That’s on them. Here in Denver, he ran like Tim Tebow and, over the last 12 games, threw like Peyton Manning, completing 68.5% of his passes.

And anyone who turned on the TV against Cleveland and Cincinnati — like Cosell — knows these were not checkdowns.

“He did a couple of things better than I thought. He showed a little bit of a power arm. Understand power arms are not a function of how far you throw a ball, but he threw a ton of deep dig (routes). And those are arm-strength throws. Those are window throws that require arm strength. When you are sitting on your back foot and have to throw it over someone or between people, there’s some juice there,” Cosell said. “I was surprised at how good he was, but I wasn’t surprised he played well.”

The Athletic’s Michael Silver was caught off guard by Nix’s athleticism. Nix basically eschewed running at Oregon and did not participate in the 40-yard dash at last year’s combine because of a turf toe injury.

“The mobility with Nix, I didn’t get. I don’t think people understand it — I didn’t — as they do now,” Silver said. “It’s clear Sean trusts him and knows he’s got a guy. And they are going to start building around him quickly.”

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler conceded he wasn’t sure Nix belonged as a first-round pick. But 18 games in Payton’s system changed his mind.

“Did he have the traits athletically and skill set to do it at that level? I wasn’t sure. But he showed it,” Fowler said. “I think he proved some people wrong.”

Which brings us back to the roof. Not woof. The ceiling. And ruh-roh. Nix isn’t close to hitting his.

He won’t show up in April with Matthew Stafford’s arm or Josh Allen’s legs. But you don’t think with experience he will become smarter, play faster and get better? The Broncos are with Nix what we thought they would be two years ago with Russell Wilson — legitimate contenders.

“We are in this world right now where nobody can ever say they were wrong in their draft evaluation. They have to make an excuse. A star fell from the galaxy and he would have been a star but the star hit him and now he can’t be,” Simms said. “Nix hasn’t hit his ceiling. I would say watch the (bleep) out. It’s going to keep going up.”