Denver Broncos Free Agency Countdown: No. 3 Neil Smith

Aug 20, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; General view of the historical monument pillars of former Denver Broncos players at the Ring of Fame plaza at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. From left: Tom Nalen (66), Rod Smith (80), Shannon Sharpe (84), Terrell Davis (30), Steve Atwater (27), Gary Zimmerman (65), Dennis Smith (49), Karl Mecklenberg (77), John Elway (7), Louis Wright (20), Tom Jackson (57) and Randy Gradishar (53). Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout the long and illustrious history of the Denver Broncos, there have been many special players to walk through the Mile High City via free agency.

From Mark Schlereth, to John Lynch, all the way to last year’s blockbuster signing of Aqib Talib, numerous players have experienced great deals of success with the Broncos through free agency.

While general manager John Elway has been in charge of personnel, he’s been able to reel in the biggest fish in the free agent-sea over the past four years. It’s almost as if the regular season never ends for Broncos Country given the amount of excitement that goes on in Denver during the offseason with Elway in control.

This upcoming free agency period will be no different and fans should be in for a treat. Elway might have to work his magic with the Broncos tight salary cap number, but nonetheless should still be able to sign more than a few impact players.

Before Elway was wheeling and dealing in the front office, though, plenty of free agents still came to Denver and excelled to the highest degree. Here, we’ll countdown the top-five best free agent acquisitions the Broncos have ever had every Tuesday until the start of free agency on March 10. Last week, Emmanuel Sanders came in at number four on the free agency countdown. Jake “The Snake” Plummer started this all off at the fifth spot.

Having said that, let’s take a look at who’s third on our free agency countdown.