Jake Plummer (54 games started, 39-15 as starter)
Once John Elway retired from the game, the Broncos spent the next few seasons struggling to find a quarterback that could be the next successor. Griese, as mentioned earlier, was okay. However, his injuries likely kept him from reaching his full potential. When the opportunity to acquire Jake Plummer in free agency arrived, Denver took the chance to upgrade at quarterback.
Jake “The Snake” Plummer gave the Broncos hope again at the quarterback position. He helped lead the Broncos to the playoffs in his first two seasons. Sadly, he would always run into another quarterback that will be on this list later and lost both meetings soundly.
It was in 2005 that would see Plummer have his best season as a professional. He would lead the Broncos to a 13-3 record, good for the second overall seed and a first-round bye. Jake became the quarterback on record to give the Broncos their first playoff win in the post-Elway era when they defeated the New England Patriots.
The team would fall one game short of the Super Bowl, as they would be defeated at home by the eventual champion Steelers. Despite all that, it was not enough to keep Plummer around. Cutler would be drafted by Denver that offseason and Plummer did not make it the entire 2006 season before he was benched.
Plummer gave us some hope in the early 2000s. It is a shame that it didn’t work out.