When legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway became the franchise’s first Hall of Fame inductee (2004), Broncos Country may have had visions of floodgates opening to the hallowed hall.
Alas, seven more “true Broncos” followed in the years to come, including offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman (2008), running back Floyd Little (2010), tight end Shannon Sharpe (2011), running back Terrell Davis (2017), cornerback Champ Bailey (2019), franchise owner Pat Bowlen (2019, posthumously), and safety Steve Atwater (2020).
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Quarterback Peyton Manning (2021) and safety John Lynch (2021) were also inducted after spending a couple of seasons in Denver. And while they may not be considered “true Broncos,” both of their respective jersey numbers have been inducted into the franchise’s ‘Ring of Fame,’ meaning both had significant enough impacts in the orange and blue.
Manning helped the Broncos reach two Super Bowls in his four seasons in Denver — winning a title in his swan song season. Lynch was a four-time Pro Bowler and leader of one of the league’s best defenses during his stint in Denver. Three of his four seasons in the Mile High City featured a defense that finished ninth, third, and eighth in fewest points allowed. Lynch was a Pro Bowler in all four of his seasons there, and led the team to playoff appearances three times.
Who’s Next?
The 10 Broncos who have busts in the Hall of Fame could get company, as seven more players with ties to the franchise are up for consideration among a crowded list of 122 former players of the modern era.
The list of nominees will be whittled down from the current 122 total candidates, to 25 semifinalists in November 2021, and then to 15 finalists in January 2022.
Former Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware (2014 to 2016), who won Super Bowl 50 with the team, is the most famous of the Denver hopefuls, as he’s entering his first year of eligibility. He’s joined by wide receivers Rod Smith (1995 to 2006, an undrafted free agent who once led the NFL in receptions with 113) and Wes Welker (2013 to 2014), defensive ends Neil Smith (1997-99, a prominent player on Denver’s back-to-back Super Bowl-winning teams) and Simeon Rice (2007), cornerback Dre Bly (2007 to 2008, seven interceptions), and nose tackle Michael Dean Perry (1997).
Of this list, Ware seems like a sure-fire entrant. Smith and Welker arguably have the next-best chances, while Rice (122.0 career sacks) also has a great standing — although, Rice made a majority of his highlights as a teammate of Lynch’s on the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl-winning squad.
Glaring Omission
While the aforementioned seven have varying chances of making the Hall of Fame, there are two prominent Broncos who are considered huge omissions among the ardent fan base, former head coach Mike Shanahan and linebacker Randy Gradishar.
A panel of Hall of Fame selectors tabbed former Oakland Raiders wideout Cliff Branch and former Super Bowl-winning head coach Dick Vermeil as the senior and coach finalists for the 2022 class.
The former Broncos coach led Elway’s squads to back-to-back championships following the 1997 and 1998 seasons, and was likely the main reason why Davis eventually got inducted. Shanahan’s pristine orchestra of a running attack spurred Davis to a tremendous, if short-lived, career. During Shanahan’s tenure in Denver (1995 to 2008), he oversaw an offense that featured seven 1,000-yard rushers, none of whom were drafted in the first round.
When former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher was inducted into the 2020 Centennial Hall of Fame class, many in Broncos Country likely wondered why Shanahan wasn’t the choice over Cowher? The comparisons are very similar, with Shanahan having one major edge over Cowher — a 2-1 advantage in Super Bowl rings. Shanahan also never lost one as a head coach, while Cowher did.
A dive into the numbers, comparing Shanahan’s 14 seasons in Denver to Cowher’s 15 seasons in Pittsburgh, shows striking similarities: Cowher had more wins (149-138), a better win percentage (62% to 61%), and playoff berths (10 to seven), while Shanahan had the edge in playoff win percentage (61% to 57%). Both averaged 10 wins per season.
Broncos Country has a solid gripe about Shanahan’s snub — and even Cowher admitted his contemporary deserves induction — but it’s nothing compared to Gradishar’s plight.
The Biggest Omission
No Broncos snub has as big an argument than Gradishar. The former NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1978) earned Pro Bowl honors seven times (six times as an All-Pro) and was the catalyst for the famed “Orange Crush” defense.
Gradishar played for the Broncos from 1974 to 1983 and was credited with 2,049 total tackles. Although tackles are not an official NFL statistic, and just 4.5 of his 19.5 career sacks are “official” (the category wasn’t logged until 1982), Gradishar was considered one of the best of his era.
Joe Collier was the longtime defensive coordinator during Gradishar’s reign and he meticulously calculated all of his prized pupil’s tackles. The coach raved about Gradishar’s ability to be in nearly every tackle.
“Randy was unbelievable,” Collier once said. “Some people have tried to say those tackle stats were padded, but I can assure you they were not. I personally watched every inch of film over and over. I kept those stats myself, and they were legit.”
The leader of the “Orange Crush” defense that led the Broncos to a Super Bowl appearance following the 1977 season, Gradishar is one of 10 linebackers in NFL history with at least 20 interceptions (exactly 20), 10 or more fumble recoveries (13), and a minimum of seven Pro Bowl appearances. The other nine are Dick Butkus, Chuck Bednarik, Ray Lewis, Joe Schmidt, Jack Lambert, Brian Urlacher, Willie Lanier, Ted Hendricks, and Jack Ham.
Eight of those linebackers were on the NFL’s 100 anniversary team. Six of them were first-ballot Hall-of-Fame choices, while the others were inducted within two years of being first-ballot eligible. None had to wait more than eight years after their respective retirements. Gradishar, meanwhile, has waited almost 40 years.
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7 Ex-Broncos Nominated for 2022 Hall of Fame, With 1 Glaring Omission