Denver Broncos: 30 greatest players of all time
. OT. (1993-97). Gary Zimmerman. 8. player. 45
Gary Zimmerman took the Los Angeles Express on his road to the NFL, and I’m not talking about some train.
Though before my time, I have seen enough documentaries on the USFL to know its impact on the NFL in the early-to-mid 1980s, and Zimmerman was one of two future NFL Hall of Famers on the same Los Angeles team (quarterback Steve Young) to spurn the NFL at the time.
After spending two seasons in the USFL, Zimmerman was a first-round pick in the 1985 Supplemental Draft by the New York Giants, who traded him to the Minnesota Vikings.
Zimmerman went on to become a seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro selection between his time with the Vikings and Broncos and was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2008.
From 1993 to 1997, Zimmerman was tasked with protecting the blind side of one John Elway, and as Shannon Sharpe states in the video, there was never a question about whether or not Elway’s backside would be covered.
Zimmerman was a neutralizer at the left tackle position and paved the way for some of the best offensive years the Broncos have seen.
It wasn’t as glamorous, but Zimmerman rode off into the sunset after the 1997 season when he won his first (and only) championship in the NFL.
– SB