Denver Broncos: 9 players who deserved to win a Super Bowl

Dennis Smith

Before there was Steve Atwater, Dennis Smith was perhaps the most feared defender the Broncos ever had.

The No. 15 overall pick of the 1981 draft, Snith would make anyone pay for getting in his way. A hard-hitting safety with a nose for the football, Smith also finished his career with 30 interceptions. That still ranks seventh in team history and is more than Atwater and the great Louis Wright had.

For much of his career, Smith was as good as any safety in the league not named Ronnie Lott. He was selected to play in six Pro Bowls and was a two-time First-Team All-Pro. He played in the same three Super Bowls that Mecklenburg and Fletcher were on, giving you an idea of how good that defense was.

In 1989, the Broncos used their first-round pick on Atwater and he and Smith would go on to form what was the best safety combination in the league. The two would spend six seasons together, but the Broncos never returned to the Super Bowl following Atwater’s rookie season.

Smith chose to retire following the 1994 season at the age of 35. Like Mecklenburg and Fletcher, he was just short of being part of a near dynasty.

Atwater would be part of the team that won back-to-back Super Bowls and was recently (finally) selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That is something Smith didn’t get and something else he likely never will.

Would Atwater have made the Hall of Fame without being part of a Super Bowl winner? You can easily make the case that he wouldn’t.