5 Greatest Players in the History of the Denver Broncos

The Broncos have had a long, somewhat underrated history of success in the history of the NFL, making picking the five greatest players in the History of the Denver Broncos difficult. However, I believe the players below truly are the best. Most are pretty obvious, but one player, in particular, will shock people.

Five Greatest Players in the History of the Denver Broncos

Number 5 Randy Gradishar (1974-1983):

This name is going to be a little out of left field for some of the younger generations, but as the great-grandson of the owner of the Broncos Gerald H. Phipps when Gradishar was playing, and yes, that is a not-so-subtle brag on my part, I am very familiar with his time in Denver. He is not a player that gets mentioned with the great player a lot of time for several reasons, but I believe he does belong on this list.

Part of the reason he may not get mentioned as often as he should be could be because he is not in the Hall of Fame, which he really should be by now, while players I am leaving off this list are in. However, despite that and the fact he only played ten seasons, he made himself a legend in Denver.

In his ten seasons, he had somewhere around 2,049 tackles giving him an average of over 200 tackles a season. It is not fully accurate, considering teams were not tracking tackles as an official stat at the time, but even so, to have a rumored number like that is incredible. He also collected 20 interceptions while being a seven-time Pro-Bowler and five-time All-Pro.

One of the things he may be most known for was being the leader of one of the best defenses in NFL History, the Orange Crush. Leading the team to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance, if Gradishar ever makes it to the Hall of Fame as he deserves, he may be a player more fans mention in their best players list.

 

Number 4 Shannon Sharpe (1990-1999) (2002-2003):

Sharpe is a player that has become almost just as famous for his post-NFL career as he was during his actual NFL Career. However, he is a player that Broncos fans always mention when it comes to the franchise’s best player, and for good reason. Despite not being among the top of very many people’s greatest Tight Ends list anymore, when he retired, he was arguably the best TE to ever play the game.

When he retired, he was the leader among TEs in Receptions (815), Yards (10,060), and TDs (62). He also had three 1,000-plus-yard seasons and two seasons with ten or more TDs. To make his resume even better, his 11 seasons of 50 or more catches was third all-time of any receiver, not just TEs.

Of all of those numbers, the majority of it was as a Bronco. He had 675 catches for 8,439 yards and 55 TDs in the Blue and Orange while being one of the most important players in the Broncos’ late 90s success, including the two Super Bowl wins.

While Sharpe has been passed on all of those records as the game has changed, it largely changed because of Shannon Sharpe. He is a player that the Broncos do not win two Super Bowls without, made the Broncos fun to watch with his intense trash talk, and made the TE position what it is today. That earns him a spot in the top five.

 

Number 3 Von Miller (2011-2021):

This was a hard one for me because I really wanted him to be number two on this list. One could very easily make the case too. In his 10 seasons with the Broncos, he became an eight-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro, and Defensive Rookie of the Year, and was the Broncos’ all-time Sack leader by a mile with 110.5 sacks.

The former number two overall pick back in 2011 certainly more than lived up to expectations. The presumably future Hall of Famer is one of the first names that people think of now when you mention the Denver Broncos. It is not just the number of Sacks or the awards, it was the impact Von Miller had in the big games. In his seven playoff games with Denver, he had 6.5 sacks, five of those on the Broncos’ Super Bowl run.

That includes his historic Super Bowl performance, where he became just the ninth player in NFL history to win Super Bowl MVP as a defensive player. In that game, he recorded 2.5 sacks with one being a strip sack for a TD, and another that sealed the game late.

The reason he is not second on this list is largely because of how his career in Denver ended. While he still thinks of himself as a Broncos and fans still think of him that way, with injuries and being traded halfway through a season, it is hard to put him ahead of the next player on this list. However, one day he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and he will most likely be wearing Blue and Orange for it.

 

Number 2 Terrell Davis (1995-2001):

Terrell Davis at number two for me was really hard, considering he only played seven seasons in the NFL, and really only four of those were productive seasons. But those four seasons might have been the most dominant run in NFL history.

The Hall of Fame Running Back managed to rush for 6,413 yards and 56 TDs, including three straight seasons of 1500 or more yards. That stretch capped off with one of the most impressive seasons in NFL History by an RB in 1998.

That year he ran for 2,008 yards and 21 TDs while sitting out roughly eight quarters of football in blowout wins that season at the time, becoming only the fourth player to rush for 2,000 or more in a single season, on his way to winning the league MVP.

Arguably the main reason he is number two on this list is that he finally paid off decades of waiting and brought both the city of Denver, but also John Elway their first-ever Super Bowl win by setting the record for the most rushing TDs in a Super Bowl with three in the teams win against the Packers. That led to a Super MVP for Terrell as well.

He also has basically a full season’s worth of stats in his playoff career alone. In his eight career playoff games, he rushed for 1,140 yards and 12 TDs. While he may not have played long, his peak and playoff accomplishments make him the second-best player in franchise history, and arguably one of the most dominant stretches by a RB in NFL history.

 

Number 1 John Elway (1983-1998):

This is the easiest spot on this list. There is no one else that could be number one on this list. When John Elway became a Broncos, the future of the franchise was changed forever. He was arguably the most anticipated prospect in NFL history at the time, when he got traded to Denver on draft night, the expectations were Super Bowls and Hall of Fame or bust.

When John Elway retired, there was a real argument that he was the best QB in NFL History. He retired the winningest QB in NFL History with a record of 148-82-1, with 47 of those wins being game-winning or tying drives which was also a record. While his number is not as record-setting great as Dan Marino’s at that time, he was the first of these modern-day QBs who were big, mobile enough when necessary, had great arms, were accurate, and did everything he could to win the game. John Elway walked so Patrick Mahomes could run today.

If those records were not enough, he took Denver to five Super Bowls which was also an NFL record for a starting QB, and led them to back-to-back Super Bowls to finish off his career. John Elway made the Broncos relevant in the NFL, and no matter what else happens in the History of this team, John Elway will always be a Broncos legend, and will most likely always be number one on any list of great Broncos.

Honorable Mentioned: Champ Bailey, Peyton Manning, Rod Smith, Floyd Little.

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