The NFL draft is quickly approaching and the Denver Broncos will be selecting players for the 59th consecutive year.
Here, I am going to look back at the previous 58 draft classes and come up with a top 10 best. John Elway will be selecting players as the team’s president for the eighth year in a row. How many times will one of his classes show up on the list?
Many draft classes feature one excellent pick, such as when the team got Shannon Sharpe in the seventh round in 1990 or when Terrell Davis was selected with pick No. 196 in 1995.
But for a class to make this list, it will need to have multiple players who made great contributions to the franchise.
10. 1980
The Broncos didn’t have a first-round choice in the 1980 draft, but they were able to get Rulon Jones in the second round. Jones was a force on the defensive line for years and still ranks sixth on the team’s all-time sacks list with 52.5.
Mike Harden and Keith Bishop were solid contributors for many years as well and helped the team reach multiple Super Bowls.
9. 2012
This was just Elway’s second year controlling picks for the Broncos. After trading out of the first round, he grabbed Derek Wolfe in the second.
Though second and third-round picks Brock Osweiler and Ronnie Hillman pretty much ended up being busts, Elway recovered by finding Malik Jackson in the fifth round and Danny Trevathan in the sixth.
Both of them were key pieces on the team’s Super Bowl 50 defense.
8. 2000
Deltha O’Neal and Ian Gold proved to be solid picks in the first two rounds for a rebuilding Denver defense, but Mike Anderson, a sixth-round selection out of Utah, was a huge find for the team.
Anderson rushed for over 3,800 yards in his Denver career and was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2000.
Also in this class were safety Kenoy Kennedy and offensive lineman Cooper Carlisle.
7. 2010
A draft class handled by the tandem of Brian Xanders and Josh McDaniels, they did well in this one after flubbing the draft the year before.
The Broncos faced almost immediate criticism for selecting Tim Tebow in the first round of this draft, but their other first-round pick was used on Demaryius Thomas. The Broncos also added Zane Beadles and Eric Decker in this draft.
6. 1987
The best picks from the team’s 1987 draft were the first one (Ricky Nattiel) and the last one (Tyrone Braxton). Both players were among the most popular with fans in team history and the fact that the Broncos got Braxton in round 12 is amazing.
Michael Brooks, a linebacker taken in the third round, was a solid contributor for the team as well.
5. 1989
The Broncos drafted one of the best players in the history of the franchise in the first round of the 1989 draft, Steve Atwater. His record speaks for itself.
Doug Widell was selected in the second round and he appeared in 139 games as an offensive lineman for the team.
But for this draft, I’m going to include the Supplemental draft. The Broncos have selected just four players ever in the supplemental draft, and three of those were chosen in the same year. The only other one (and the most recent), was Bobby Humphrey in 1989.
Humphrey didn’t have a long career with the Broncos but he was one of the best running backs the team ever had.
4. 2006
The Broncos surprised many when they used a first-round pick on a quarterback just months after playing in the AFC Championship Game, but Jay Cutler was the man they tabbed as the future of the franchise.
The rest of the draft was solid as well with Tony Sheffler, Brandon Marshall, Elvis Dumervil and Chris Kuper. Each of those players had terrific seasons with the Broncos and if not for the way each of their tenure’s in Denver came to an end, this class might be at the top of this list.
3. 1985
The first three picks of the 1985 draft were money for the Broncos. Steve Sewell, Vance Johnson and Simon Fletcher.
Sewell was a jack-of-all-trades running back for the team and Johnson was one of the most prolific receivers in team history. Fletcher is as underrated as any defender that has ever played in the league and until late last season, was still the team’s all-time leader in sacks.
2. 1975
In terms of players the team selected, the 1975 draft was the best it ever had. A monumental trade is the only reason this draft class is not No. 1.
The Broncos found two future Ring of Fame members in this draft in defensive back Louis Wright and wide receiver/return specialist Rick Upchurch.
Rubin Carter was a solid pick in the fifth round and Steve Foley, a defensive back taken in the eighth round, still has more interceptions with the team than anyone else.
1. 1983
The Broncos didn’t select Elway, but the 1983 draft will always be remembered for the trade they made with the Baltimore Colts, the team Elway refused to play for.
The Broncos sent the player they did select, Chris Hinton and others for Elway, who went on to win two Super Bowls with the team and become one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.
The rest of the class wasn’t bad either.
The Broncos got Gary Kubiak in the eighth round. He would prove to be a valuable long-term backup quarterback but the roots he established with the team would go well beyond his playing years as he would also go on to become one of the best coaches in team history.
Finally, the selection of Karl Mecklenburg in the 12th round that year kind of worked out, didn’t it? Mecklenburg was selected to six Pro Bowls.
