Former Auburn football quarterback Bo Nix was given a pro comp to New Orleans Saints signal-caller Derek Carr, who's reached the 4,000-passing yard benchmark three of his 10 years in the NFL thus far, but is currently in the midst of a collapse in the Big Easy that could see the Saints miss the postseason.
"I question his ability to go off-script, or win meaningful games," FanSided's John Buhler prefaced before saying, "So who does that sound like? Derek Carr of the New Orleans Saints! To be fair, I have liked Carr a lot more than most people, given what he had to endure for the better part of a decade as the face of the Las Vegas Raiders. Carr can put up stats and provide a decent level of stability to a mediocre team. Unfortunately, he almost always shrinks in big moments. He comes up small and will point the finger."
That's harsh, but given Oregon's losses to Washington over the years and their coming up short as a two-score favorite in the 2023 Pac-12 Championship, the last of its kind, it's fair. Carr put up flashy regular season stats but never won a playoff game in just two attempts.
Analyst doesn't believe former Auburn football QB Bo Nix will succeed anywhere he goes
Buhler doesn't think Nix is a slam-dunk NFL prospect, even in some ways calling him a system quarterback -- or, to take a que from Cam Newton, a game-manager -- by claiming he would only do well for a handful of franchises.
"As with Penix, where Nix goes matters," Buhler wrote. "He is a better runner and slightly younger than Penix, but not considerably. To me, I think he would do very well in a place like the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Seattle Seahawks, two defensive-minded cultures with great pieces all around. If Nix were to be drafted by teams like the Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders or Washington Commanders, it could be an issue. For Nix to succeed as a mid-first-round pick, he needs to go to a team like the Minnesota Vikings."
Nix certainly looked like a different player with AU's Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz-less 2021 receiving corps and later on with Oregon's loaded WR room. Tiger fans know he isn't a savior alone, so landing with a team with a proven track record is likely the only way he sees succes out of the gate at the next level.