Over the past 10 weeks, Bo Nix has gone from being discussed as a potential draft bust to being at the forefront of the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year debate.

Since Denver’s 26-7 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, Nix has played at a high level, throwing for 2,164 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 66.1% of his passes. Just as Nix has improved dramatically in the first two weeks, so have the Broncos, who are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are in the thick of the playoff hunt.

Here are 10 interesting numbers from Nix’s 10-week phase:

4: The former Oregon star has completed at least 70% of pass attempts in four of Denver’s last 10 games. In Denver’s win over the Falcons in Week 11, Nix shot 84.8% (28 of 33) – the third-highest completion rate by a rookie in league history with at least 30 attempts. Nix had a completion rate above 70% in two of Denver’s last three games.

117.5: Broncos head coach Sean Payton doesn’t think Nix’s arm has gotten any stronger since college. He believes it was underestimated.

One of the biggest storylines during Nix’s rookie campaign was his ability to make plays on long throws. Since Week 3, Nix has gone 16 for 38 (42.1%) for 413 yards, four touchdowns and a passer rating of 117.5 – fourth-best in attempts with more than 20 air yards, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

“I didn’t hear ‘darts’ or ‘down-the-field’ or ‘long arms’ or any of that in his college reports,” Payton said. “…Our experts’ eyesight was weaker at the beginning.”

29.7: While Nix has started to rely on deep passes, he has also caused his opponents problems with intermediate throws (passes from 10 to 19 meters away). He has the ninth-best overall score (29.7). Nix is ​​35 for 66 with 641 yards, five touchdowns and one pick on interceptions over the last 10 weeks.

71.4%: Nix has done a good job throwing against zone coverage, Nix has completed 72.8% of his pass attempts (35 for 49) in Denver’s last 10 meetings. He also has 1,605 passing yards, nine touchdowns and one pick with a rating of 104.1. Nix has the fifth-best completion percentage and sixth-best passer rating against zone defenses since Week 3. The 24-year-old hit the zone on 52.3% of his dropbacks against the Raiders last week, going 17-for-21 for 170 yards.

Against man coverage, he went 50 for 98 (51%) with 559 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. Nix has a passer rating of 87.9 on 114 dropbacks against this coverage scheme.

100.4: According to Next Gen Stats, Nix has completed 53 of 93 passes for 655 yards, six touchdowns per interception and a passer rating of 100.4 on third down. He has the fourth-most passing yards in third place in this 10-game stretch, trailing Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, Joe Burrow of the Bengals and CJ Stroud of the Texans. Nix has relied heavily on rookie wideout Devaughn Vele in third-down situations. He targeted Vele nine times, resulting in nine completions for 87 yards and a touchdown.

680: Nix and Courtland Sutton were one of the best quarterback-wide receiver duos in the league. Nix has thrown for 680 yards and five touchdowns in the last 10 games for Sutton. The yardage total during that span ranks fourth behind Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin (689), Minnesota’s Sam Darnold and Justin Jefferson (747) and Cincinnati’s Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase (959). Another interesting stat from the Nix-Sutton connection: According to Next Gen Stats, Nix has targeted Sutton eight times on go routes, resulting in seven completions for 158 yards and three touchdowns since Week 5.

8-0: Since Week 10, Nix has an 8-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio, the best in the league during that span. According to Next Gen Stats, Nix and Dallas’ Dak Prescott are the only rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to throw more than eight touchdowns and no interceptions over a three-game span. According to Pro Football Focus, Nix has only made one turnover-worthy play in the last three weeks. The website defines such plays as a pass that has a high probability of being intercepted or an instance in which a player has poor control of the ball and fumbles.