Analyst sends mixed message on former Auburn QB’s draft stock

CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson sent a mixed message on former Auburn football quarterback and current Oregon star Bo Nix during his 2024 NFL Mock Draft — simultaneously saying his Tigers tenure was nothing like his time in Eugene (a Plains-potshot) but that he still would’ve been a Day 2 pick had he left for the NFL this past draft cycle…all while projecting him to go No. 17 overall next April.

Huh?

“The Oregon version of Bo Nix looked nothing like the Auburn version, and he would’ve almost certainly have been a Day 2 pick had he been in the ’23 class,” Wilson wrote.

Bo Nix may not raise his draft stock in 2023 without former Auburn football offensive coordinator

One of the primary reasons Nix excelled at Oregon in a way he never did with Auburn football is the presence of Kenny Dillingham, who was Nix’s offensive coordinator in 2022 but is now the head coach of Arizona State. While Dillingham was coaching Nix during the 2019 Auburn football season as well, the Pinson native was a freshman at that point who was nowhere near as advanced physically or experience-wise as he is now.

Gus Malzahn’s final recruiting classes showed a decline in recruiting in the offensive trenches, but the OL Nix had in front of him during his freshman season was good enough to bring out a 2,500+ passing yard, 23-touchdown, from the QB. In the SEC. As a true freshman. Dillingham had a huge hand in that.

Without Dillingham, it wouldn’t be terribly shocking to see Nix regress, if only slightly, during the 2023 season since he’s never had a standout season without the Arizona native. Oregon’s schedule is more favorable in 2023 by way of not facing Georgia, but the Ducks still profile as a nine or ten-win team. Another season of over 3,500 passing yards and 30 all-purpose touchdowns could make Nix a first-rounder but don’t expect his stock to rise beyond Wilson’s projection unless he can do what he’s never done in his four-year college football career.