Tag: Broncos History

Broncos have picked 12th overall three times since 1971

If the Broncos stand pat and don’t make a trade, Thursday will mark the fourth time they have picked 12th overall in the NFL draft.

The Denver Broncos will pick 12th overall in Thursday’s NFL draft, where they hope to select a game-changing player that will help this franchise back into relevance.

Denver has drafted in the 12th overall slot three times since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Each of those three players went on to have a significant career with the Broncos.

  • 1971: OT Marv Montgomery

Montgomery was an offensive lineman at USC before being selected by Denver at 12th overall in the 1971 NFL draft. Montgomery spent five years and three games in 1976 with the Broncos before moving onto the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons prior to the finishing of his career in 1978.

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  • 2008: OT Ryan Clady

Clady made the transition from college to the NFL the way not many other players do — by staying with a team with the same nickname and similar colors. Clady was an offensive tackle from the Boise State Broncos, and he made a key block on the famous Statue of Liberty play from the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Clady went on to have a great career with the NFL’s Broncos — he was a four-time Pro Bowler (2009, 2011, 2012, 2014) and a two-time first-team All-Pro (2009, 2012). Clady finished his career in 2016 with the New York Jets.

  • 2009: RB Knowshon Moreno

One of the most recent Georgia running backs that was selected by the Broncos was Knowshon Moreno, who was also picked 12th overall. Moreno was a five-year starter with the Broncos, only recording one 1,000-yard season (2013). Moreno finished his Denver stint with 4,869 yards and 35 total touchdowns in five years.

It will be interesting to see who Denver picks with the 12th selection in 2024 (if they don’t make a trade).

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Broncos’ Orange Crush-inspired throwback uniforms are a big hit

The Broncos have unveiled 1977-inspired throwback uniforms and they are absolutely beautiful.

The Denver Broncos unveiled new primary (and alternate) uniforms on Monday that have been met with mixed reviews. There are vocal fans on social media who strongly dislike the new look, but there are also fans who view it as a big improvement on the previous threads.

While there’s not a strong consensus on the primary uniforms, the Orange Crush-inspired throwback look has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from both fans and pundits.

Here’s the club’s description of the new throwback, courtesy of a press release from the team:

Honoring the Orange Crush era and the 1977 season when the Broncos made their first Super Bowl appearance, the throwback closet features the iconic Legacy Blue ‘D’ helmet and orange uniforms adapted to Nike’s current chassis with peak performance fabric.

Helmet: The Legacy Blue shell pairs with a white facemask and vertical orange stripe. The fan-favorite and iconic Denver ‘D’ logo originally introduced in 1968 will return to the Broncos’ uniform closet rotation for the first time on a Legacy Blue helmet since 1996.

Jersey: The classic orange jersey features oversized white numbers with Legacy Blue trim on the front, back and top of the shoulders. A sleeve stripe sits at the shoulder mirroring the Legacy Blue trim from the numbers.

Pants: The white pants include an orange and Legacy Blue stripe down the length of the pants.

Socks: The socks include orange and Legacy Blue bands that align with the stripes of the jerseys and pants.

The Broncos unveiled the uniform on Monday with a video showing Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Randy Gradishar handing off an Orange Crush-era helmet to star cornerback Pat Surtain.

Denver called it a “blast from the past” on social media:

The Broncos can wear alternate/throwback uniforms up to three times per season. It seems safe to say fans in Denver will be excited every time this look is pulled out of the closet.

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Floyd Little was the best player to wear No. 44 for the Broncos

A member of the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame, Floyd Little was the best player to ever wear No. 44 for the Broncos.

Floyd Little was the best player to ever wear jersey No. 44 for the Denver Broncos.

After playing college football at Syracuse, Little was drafted by the Broncos in the first round (sixth overall) in the 1967 NFL draft. He went on to spend his entire nine-year career in Denver, rushing for 6,323 yards and 43 touchdowns.

Little was a five-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro. He led the NFL with 1,133 rushing yards in 1971, and his 12 rushing touchdowns in 1973 tired for the most in the league that season.

A three-time first-team All-American in College, Little had his No. 44 retired by the Syracuse Orange. The Broncos also retired Little’s number and the team added him to their Ring of Fame in 1984.

Little was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. His 6,323 career rushing yards rank second in franchise history only behind fellow Hall of Famer Terrell Davis (7,607 yards).

Nicknamed “The Franchise,” Little helped prevent the Broncos from moving out of Denver in the 1960s. He was one of the best (and most important) players in franchise history.

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Broncos’ all-time record against each opponent on 2022 schedule

Here’s a quick look at the Broncos’ all-time record against each of their 2022 opponents.

The Denver Broncos are set to begin their 2022 season on Monday (view the full schedule here), starting with a showdown against the Seattle Seahawks, one of their former rivals in the AFC West.

Denver has an edge in the all-time series against Seattle, but the Seahawks won when it mattered most against the Broncos.

A regular season game isn’t going to make up for a blowout Super Bowl loss, but every win against Seattle has a little more meaning now.

Denver will aim to improve its all-time record against the Seahawks to 36-19 on Monday Night Football on Sept. 12.

Beyond that, here’s a quick look at the Broncos’ all-time record against every team they will face this season.

This Tim Tebow stat is crazy but true

Tim Tebow is the quarterback drafted by the Broncos who has won a playoff game.

Earlier this month, a graphic about Tim Tebow’s crazy stat with the Denver Broncos went viral on social media.

“Tim Tebow is the only QB in Broncos history to be drafted by the team and win a playoff game,” ESPN’s NFL account wrote on May 3.

That might sound hard to believe, but it’s true.

Peyton Manning, who helped Denver dominate the AFC West from 2012-2015, signed with the team as a free agent. Manning reached two Super Bowls with the Broncos, winning one of them.

Jake Plummer, who helped Denver reach the AFC Championship Game in 2005, joined the team during free agency in 2003.

John Elway, who won two Super Bowls with the Broncos, was acquired through a trade with the Baltimore Colts in 1983.

Craig Morton, who helped Denver reach the Super Bowl in 1977, was acquired by the Broncos in a trade with the New York Giants.

Tebow, who helped Denver defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the 2011 playoffs, was selected by the Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Fans in Denver are hoping that Drew Lock, a second-round pick last year, will join Tebow on the list of drafted QBs who have won in the playoffs.

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Broncos haven’t been this bad since early years following AFL-NFL merger

The Denver Broncos have not had three consecutive losing seasons since the years immediately following the AFL-NFL merger.

Though there is a way to consider the 2019 season a success for the Denver Broncos, ultimately, the team will have a losing season for the third consecutive year. That hasn’t happened for quite a while.

You have to go all the way back to the AFL-NFL merger.

For clarification, a winning season is one in which the team finishes 8-8 or better. A losing season would be one in which the team lost more games than it won. A winning season is not necessarily one that ended with a playoff berth.

Still, the Broncos have been remarkably good in finishing at least .500. The fact that it was nearly 50 years ago that they had three straight losing seasons is incredible.

Let’s go all the way back to the last time it happened.

The time: 1970-1972

(Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY Sports)

The merger between the old AFL and the NFL took place in 1970. The Broncos were a bad team in the AFL with a total record of 39-97-4 in 10 seasons. They never made the playoffs.

That run of mediocrity carried over into the team’s first few seasons in the NFL and that is as big a reason as any as to why the team had three straight losing seasons following the merger.

In 1970, the team went 5-8-1. The next season, they were 4-9-1 and in 1972 they were 5-9.

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On this date in Broncos history: Brandon Marshall sets big NFL record

Former Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall set an NFL record with 21 receptions in a single game on Dec. 13, 2009.

On Dec. 13, 2009 — one decade ago today — former Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall set an NFL record with 21 receptions in a single game. That record still stands today.

Marshall’s record-breaking performance came in a losing effort as Denver fell to the Indianapolis Colts 28-16 on the road. The Peyton Manning-led Colts jumped up to a 21-0 lead before former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton connected with Marshall for two scores to make things interesting.

Denver got within five points (21-16) in the fourth quarter but Manning sealed the game with a third touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark with 2:25 remaining, ensuring the Broncos wouldn’t have enough time to catch up.

“I believe it was one of those games where, whenever you accomplish something like that, it definitely feels good,” Marshall said after the loss. “But we have goals, and our only goal is to win games. I’d definitely trade in a couple of those catches for a win.”

Marshall spent the first four years of his career with the Broncos — 2009 ended up being his final season in Denver. Former coach Josh McDaniels benched the receiver in Week 17 for being late to a physical therapy session and then traded Marshall to the Miami Dolphins in April.

Marshall went on to spend time with five more NFL teams before retiring after the 2018 season. The six-time Pro Bowler caught 970 passes for 12,351 yards and 83 touchdowns during his 13-year career.

Marshall’s 327 receptions with Denver rank 10th in franchise history and his 25 touchdown catches rank 13th, just below Emmanuel Sanders (28).

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