Denver Broncos Free Agency Countdown: No. 1 Peyton Manning

January 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway late in the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots in the 2013 AFC Championship football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-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 Jake “The Snake” Plummer and Emmanuel Sanders, to Neil Smith and Ed McCaffrey, 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 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, our countdown of the top-five best free agent acquisitions the Broncos have ever had will come to an end, but it couldn’t have finished up with a more deserving individual. On this glorious first day of free agency, let’s take a moment to appreciate who took the top spot on our countdown.