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Top 50 Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos were charter members of the American Football League in 1960, but it is hard to remember that they were even in that league, to begin with.  The Broncos were the only team that never played in the AFL Title and not only that they also never even had a winning record.  Beyond having a star in Running Back, Floyd Little, the team might have folded or relocated.  But as they say, time heals everything.

By the mid-'70s, the Broncos would have a defensive unit called the "Orange Crush," and it took them to Super Bowl XII and a loss to the Dallas Cowboys.  The "D" remained solid for years, but they would later be known for their offense when they traded for Quarterback, John Elway.  The Broncos would win the AFC Conference three times in the last half of the 1980s, but they would lose each Super Bowl by wide margins.

Along with Running Back, Terrell Davis, Elway again took the Broncos to the Super Bowl, and he would finally win it all in Super Bowl XXXII and repeated it the following year with a championship win over the Atlanta Falcons in a game that would be Elway's last.

Denver would be up and down after that for the following fifteen seasons and Elway, now the team's General Manager brought in Peyton Manning.  Manning would take the team to two Super Bowls, the first a lopsided loss XLVIII to the Seattle Seahawks but backed by a potent defense led by Von Miller, and they would win Super Bowl 50.


This list is up to the end of the 2022 regular season.

Note: Football lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.

Playing his college ball at Utah State, Rulon Jones would stay in the mountain region as a pro as his entire career was spent with the Denver Broncos who drafted him in the 2nd Round in 1980.  Jones played all none of seasons with Denver where he landed the starting Right Defensive End job in 1981 and kept it until…
A member of the Denver Broncos for all nine of his seasons in the National Football League, John Mobley was a member of the two straight Denver Broncos Super Bowls wins in Super Bowl XXXIII and XXXIII.  Mobley would have three 100 Tackle seasons, the first of which would see him accrue 132 and that year (1997) he was also…
Undrafted in 1997 from the University of Colorado, Matt Lepsis would sign with the Denver Broncos where as a rookie he would play a small role in helping the team defend their Super Bowl.  After that season, Lepsis would start 133 of his next 134 Games at Tackle (Right or Left) and filled in on the O-Line where needed.  He…
Steve Watson played his entire career with the Denver Broncos, which would work out to 126 Games over nine seasons, a pretty good number for an undrafted player out of Temple.  The Wide Receiver would have three 1,000 Yard Receiving Seasons, all of which were good enough to get him ranked in the top ten.  The first of those, 1981,…
While Jake “The Snake” Plummer was supposed to be a star in Arizona for the Cardinals (he was a legend at Arizona State), he would have greater success at Mile High with the Broncos.
After playing in the NFL for 12 seasons (with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants) Craig Morton signed with the Denver Broncos at age 34 and would go on the best run of his career.  Winning the PFWA Comeback Player of the Year in his first year as a Bronco (1977) and took the Broncos to their first Super…
An MVP of the Big 10 and College Football Hall of Famer for his work at Purdue, Otis Armstrong was drafted 9th Overall in 1973 by the Broncos, but as a rookie, he was little more than a Kick Returner.  He would have a monster second season in Pro Football where he would lead the NFL in Rushing Yards, Yards…
A 9th Round Pick from New Mexico in 1968, Paul Smith would become the starting Left Defensive Tackle in 1970 and switched over to Right Defensive Tackle in 1972 would be named to his first of two Pro Bowls.  His second one, which would come the year after, would see him make it as a Left Defensive Tackle.  Smith would…
A very popular Wide Receiver for the Broncos during their first three Super Bowl appearances in the late 1980s, Mark Jackson was one of John Elway's "Three Amigos" receiving corps.  Jackson never had a 1,000 Yard season but had five with 700 or more.  Jackson would have 276 Receptions, but his most memorable one would be a game-tying Touchdown in…
Bill Bryan was drafted in the 4th Round in 1977 from Duke, and he would win the starting Center's job in his second season.  Bryan would start 151 of his 153 Games for Denver, and while he never made a Pro Bowl, he was worthy of consideration in at least five of his years.
Splitting his career evenly between the Washington Redskins and the Denver Broncos, Mark Schlereth’s back nine was spent in Colorado.  Schlereth would switch from Right Guard to Left Guard with Denver, and he would help stable an O-Line that opened up holes for Terrell Davis and protected John Elway.  He assisted the Broncos in winning their first two Super Bowls,…
Emmanuel Sanders played his first four seasons in the National Football League with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he did well, but was never the top Wide Receiver while playing under Mike Tomlin.  Sanders signed with the Denver Broncos in 2014, and it was in the Rockies where his best season occurred.  In Sanders first year in Denver, he posted personal bests…