9. 1983 Denver Broncos
Regular season: 9-7 | Playoffs: 0-1
The 1982 Broncos went 2-7 in a strike-shortened season to earn the fourth overall pick in the 1983 draft. They used that pick on Northwestern offensive lineman Chris Hinton, whom they subsequently traded to the Baltimore Colts, along with backup quarterback Mark Herrmann and their 1984 first-round pick, for Stanford quarterback John Elway, whom the Colts had selected No. 1 overall despite his refusal to play for them under any circumstances. Turned out to be a pretty good deal for the Broncos, though Elway struggled mightily as a rookie — he completed 47.5% of his passes and threw just seven touchdown passes to 14 interceptions. Still, those Broncos started 6-3 before dropping to 9-7 at the end of the regular season, and they lost to the Seahawks in the wild-card round. Elway would have to wait a while before he could start making magic happen.