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Denver Broncos have a mixed history of first-round WRs

By Travis Wakeman

SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 5: Wide Receiver Ashley Lelie #85 of the Denver Broncos straight-arms Drayton Florence #29 of the San Diego Chargers during their NFL Game at Qualcomm Stadium on December 5, 2004 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 5: Wide Receiver Ashley Lelie #85 of the Denver Broncos straight-arms Drayton Florence #29 of the San Diego Chargers during their NFL Game at Qualcomm Stadium on December 5, 2004 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /
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Denver receiver Ashley Lelie tries to get around Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha as the Denver Broncos defeated the Oakland Raiders by a score of 31 to 17 at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California, November 13, 2005. (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary)
Denver receiver Ashley Lelie tries to get around Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha as the Denver Broncos defeated the Oakland Raiders by a score of 31 to 17 at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California, November 13, 2005. (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary) /

No. 3: Ashley Lelie, Hawaii, 2002

The highest draft pick ever used on a wide receiver by the Broncos was with the No. 19 overall pick and that came in 2002 when the team chose Ashley Lelie. He was the second receiver chosen that year behind only Donte Stallworth, who went to the New Orleans Saints at No. 13.

Interestingly, the third wide receiver taken in that draft was Javon Walker (at No. 20 overall), who would factor into Lelie’s career later on.

Though Lelie had a wildly more successful career in Denver than Nash, it still left much to be desired. He spent four seasons with the Broncos, catching 168 passes.

His best season came in 2004 when he caught 54 passes for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns, all career highs. But following the 2005 season, the Broncos acquired Walker via trade. They also used a fourth-round pick on Brandon Marshall.

Lelie seemed to become frustrated with the front office due to the trade for Walker and he and head coach Mike Shanahan would go on to but heads, leading to Lelie skipping training camp and creating trade demands.

The Broncos gave into those demands and sent him to the Atlanta Falcons. He would spend one season there before spending a season each with the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders before calling it a career in 2009.

Lelie started slowly with the Broncos and initially looked like he could have been a bust (though not on the level of Nash), but just when he started to pick up steam and transform into a productive piece of the offense, he felt he needed a change.

It’s a shame he couldn’t have played a few more years in Denver to see if he could have reached his maximum potential.

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