Denver Broncos: Top 15 acquisitions of the decade

Drafted Von Miller in 2011

By: Shelby Manning

This one is an easy choice.

Von Miller is easily the best player drafted by the Denver Broncos in the past decade, and will go down as one of the best Broncos’ draft picks of all time.

With the highest first round draft pick the Broncos had had in 20 years, they selected Miller out of Texas A&M with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Miller made an immediate impact, earning an All-Pro nod as a rookie, and was selected as the 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The fact that Von Miller’s first career play in a regular season game was a forced fumble against the Oakland Raiders is a good summary of what a force Miller was right out of the gate.

In 2012, Miller broke the regular season franchise sack record with 18.5, previously at 17 set by former Bronco Elvis Dumervil and was in the MVP conversation.

Although suspended for cheating a drug test in 2013, the Broncos’ addition of DeMarcus Ware, who Miller was compared to by draft guru Mike Mayock prior to being drafted, gave Miller a mentor, and Ware was huge in Miller’s progression as an NFL player, off and on the field.

2015 was a milestone year for Miller, as he became the third-fastest player to reach 50 career sacks. 2015 would also be the year Miller had a monster postseason, especially in the AFC Championship, where he recorded 2.5 sacks and an interception against Tom Brady. Miller would then dominate Super Bowl 50, finishing the day with two forced fumbles, 2.5 sacks and a Super Bowl MVP accolade.

Most recently, Miller reached his 100th sack in the 2019 season.

It would take hours to write down and record Von Miller’s many accomplishments. He is a perennial elite player, and finding another like him is extremely rare. Miller earns a top spot on this list, and will go down as one of the best players in franchise history, and Broncos Country is hopeful that he will spend his entire career as a Denver Bronco.