Ed McCaffrey was the reliable second option for the Denver Broncos for many years, and he was an essential part of the organization's two Super Bowl wins in the late 1990s.  The Wide Receiver would have three straight 1,000 Yard seasons (1998-00), was named to the Pro Bowl in 1998 and had a 101 Reception season in 2000, which was then a team record.  McCaffrey would catch 462 passes for 6,200 Yards and 46 TDs.

From the University of Tennessee, Al Wilson would win the starting Middle Linebacker job as a rookie for the Denver Broncos, which would be the only team he ever played for.  Wilson would become known in the NFL for his speed and his ability on the pass rush, and from 2001 to 2006 he was named to the Pro Bowl.  He would also be chosen as a First Team All-Pro in the 2005 season, and at the time of his retirement, he would have 714 Combined Tackles and 21.5 Quarterback Sacks.

Trevor Pryce had to feel happy when the Denver Broncos drafted the former Clemson Tiger as he was on a team that was on the cusp of something special.  Pryce was a member of the Broncos' first two Super Bowl wins, but he came into his own after that success by putting together a four-year streak of Pro Bowl Selections from 1999 to 2002.  Pryce played mostly at Defensive Tackle though he was also used at Defensive End, and he twice had a ten plus sack season.  Before he signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2006, he would finish his Broncos tenure wi121 Games played and 64 Sacks.

Bill Thompson played all 179 of his Games with the Denver Broncos, and he started every single one of them.  A 3^rd Round Pick from Maryland State, Thompson was a versatile defensive player who as a rookie would lead the NFL in both Yards per Kick and Punt Return.  Thompson spent many more seasons returning kicks and punts for the Broncos, but he would also settle in as the starting Strong Safety wherein 1977 he was named to the Pro Bowl, earned his only First Team All-Pro and helped the Broncos reach the Super Bowl.  Thompson went to two more Pro Bowls and netted 40 picks in his career.

He entered the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1987.

Barney Chavous played his entire career with the Denver Broncos, and it was a long one!  Selected in the 2^nd Round of the 1973 Draft, Chavous was a Defensive Tackle as a rookie, and he would move to Defensive End where he would be a starter until he retired after the 1985 season.  Although Chavous has 23.0 official Quarterback Sacks, unofficially he would accrue 75, which is third in franchise history.  He would play 183 Games, starting 178 for Denver.

It seemed like forever that the Denver Broncos were searching for Quarterback to replace John Elway, and it took Elway himself to find one.  As the Broncos' General Manager and one Hall of Famer signed another and Peyton Manning was signed as a Free Agent from the Indianapolis Colts.

Dennis Smith was a six-time Pro Bowl Selection over a career that spanned fourteen seasons.  Smith’s career was spent all with Denver where he was drafted 15^th overall in 1981 out of USC, and he was a precursor to Steve Atwater as one of the hardest hitting Defensive Backs in football.  Smith helped the team reach three Super Bowls, and in 1983 he led the league in Tackles with 114.  He would also eclipse the 100 mark in tackles four other times.

The Broncos inducted Smith into their Ring of Fame in 2001.

Tom Jackson was a 4^th Round Pick from Louisville and considering he spent 14 seasons at Mile High this was undoubtedly a high-value selection.  Jackson started 177 of the 191 Games he played at Linebacker, and he was the soul of the famed Orange Crush defense that reversed the fortunes of Denver and brought them to their first Super Bowl appearance in the 1977 season.  That year Jackson went to his first of three straight Pro Bowls, and in ‘77 he was also a First Team All-Pro.  He was still with the team when they reached their second Super Bowl, making him one of only four players to be in the first two for the team.

From San Jose State, Louis Wright would become one of the best Defensive Backs in Denver Bronco history.  Wright played his entire career with the Denver Broncos where he played 165 Games and was named to the 1970’s All-Decade Team.

The Denver Broncos might be one of the premier franchises in the National Football League now, but in their early years, they were not very good and had very little reason to sell tickets.  One of the few good things they had was Floyd Little, their first Round Running Back from 1967.

The Denver Broncos put everything together in the late, and there were a lot of differences around John Elway that you could point to on the offensive weapons that he now had (Shannon Sharpe and Terrell Davis), but he also had a top Center in Tom Nalen.  From 1997 to 2000 he was named to the Pro Bowl and was a stable force assisting the Broncos win two Super Bowls.  Nalen was a First Team All-Pro in 2000 and again in 2003 where he was named the NFL Alumni Offensive Lineman of the Year.  Nalen played 194 Games in the National Football League all of which were with the Broncos.

He would get the call from the Broncos' Ring of Fame in 2013.

Known as the "Albino Rhino," Karl Mecklenburg was a late round (12^th) pick from the University of Minnesota was the master of versatility for the Denver Broncos.  Mecklenburg played seven different defensive positions for Denver and was described as a "Defensive Swiss-Army Knife."  Usually, he lined up at Inside Linebacker, and the was a First Team All-Pro in both 1985 and 1986 as well as 1989, which was the season that he led the NFL in Approximate Value.  Mecklenburg played his entire career with the Denver Broncos which saw him go to six Pro Bowls over 12 seasons, three of which he was a crucial part of the team's success in reaching the Super Bowl.  He would also accumulate 79.0 Quarterback Sacks.

The Broncos selected Mecklenburg for the Ring of Fame in 2001.

John Elway was the most highly touted Quarterback of the 1983 Draft, but he made it very clear from the start that he did not want to play for the Baltimore Colts who had the number one overall pick.  He would be traded to the Denver Broncos, and while he had some growing pains the way most young Quarterbacks do, he blossomed into one of the greatest dual-threat Running Backs in NFL history.

Nowadays, it is expected that if you don't accumulate at least 10,000 Yards as a Running Back that a Hall of Fame slot won't likely come your way.  That line of thinking wasn't much different in the late, and early '00s, but then most Running backs never had a three-year stretch of dominance like Terrell Davis did.

Steve Atwater was one of the most hard-hitting Safeties ever, and his highlight reel reeks of tackles and hots that would be illegal today.  

Von Miller played the first nine seasons-and-a-half in the NFL (all with Denver), and he has been named to the Pro Bowl in seven of them.  It gets even more impressive as he was named an All-Pro (three First Team and four Second Team) in all seven of those Pro Bowl years.

Champ Bailey began his professional football career with the Washington Redskins where the Cornerback was named to the Pro Bowl four of his five seasons there.  Bailey was franchise tagged and was permitted to seek a trade and one was surprisingly worked out for Running Back Clinton Portis of the Broncos.  The deal arguably worked better for the Broncos and definitely for Bailey whose best was yet to come.

Playing college at Missouri Southern State, Rod Smith would break a lot of school records, but it did not translate into a draft selection.  The Denver Broncos would, however, sign him and while he did not play as a rookie and sparingly in the two seasons after, he would become a star receiver for John Elway in 1997 where he would catch 70 Receptions for 1,180 Yards and 12 Touchdowns and was a member of the Denver's Super Bowl XXXII win, the first in franchise history.  This was not a one year wonder as Smith again hit 1,000 Yards in 1998 and played a more prominent role in their Super Bowl XXXIII title where he had five catches for 152 Yards and a Touchdown.  

Shannon Sharpe was a late round draft pick in 1990, and the product of Savannah State would become the most prolific Tight End of the 1990s.  In his third season in the NFL, he would be named to the Pro Bowl where he would begin a seven-year streak.  Sharpe would become one of John Elway's most dependable weapons and he would three times secure the 1,000 Yard mark in Receiving Yards.  He was also a four-time First Team All-Pro (1993 & 1996-98) and was one of the main reasons that the Broncos would win their first two Super Bowls. 

Tackles were not kept track of when Randy Gradishar played in the NFL but if they were Gradishar would be statistically proven as one of the most magnificent tackling machines in the history of Professional Football.