The Denver Broncos will have two representatives entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month: late owner Pat Bowlen and legendary former cornerback Champ Bailey. More Broncos could be Canton-bound in 2020.
The league is “tentatively set” to expand its 2020 class to include 20 members — five modern-era candidates, 10 senior candidates, three contributors and two coaches, according to ProFootballTalk.com.
The expanded class will help some of the Broncos’ overlooked candidates have a better shot of enshrinement.
“We have several guys who are on all-decade teams who aren’t in the Hall of Fame, so this is an opportunity with the Centennial coming up,” Hall of Fame president and CEO David Baker said on SiriusXM NFL Radio earlier this month.
Former Broncos safety Steve Atwater is a member of the league’s 1990s All-Decade Team and former linebacker Randy Gradishar earned seven Pro Bowl nods and a Defensive Player of the Year award during his career. Those two defenders are long overdue for Hall of Fame selections.
Former linebacker Karl Mecklenburg, who made the Pro Bowl six times and is a member of the team’s Ring of Fame, is also deserving.
