10. Undrafted Free Agency Success
Even if you limit to just recent history, John Elway has been very good at finding talented players following the NFL Draft since becoming general manager of the Broncos in 2011.
The notable names that have made the team right out of college without getting that recognition of being a draft pick are:
- RB CJ Anderson
- RB Phillip Lindsay
- CB Chris Harris Jr
- S Trey Marshall
- LB Alexander Johnson
- LB Shaquil Barrett
- LB Malik Reed
Unfortunately, three of those players are no longer on the team, but it isn’t because they were bad players. In fact, Harris Jr. wanted out. He wanted to go to a team that would be willing to pay him more money.
Or not.
It was clear that Harris wanted out of Denver and closed the door on the possibility of returning just before free agency.
Barrett did cash in with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after five seasons in Denver. He had a breakout season for Tampa Bay in 2019, with 19.5 sacks.
Anderson was cut by the Broncos after five seasons for money purposes. Unfortunately for the position, running backs just don’t generally get paid as much as most positions these days.
A lot of these players have made tremendous impacts on the Broncos during their time in Denver. There are still things to look for with Marshall, but the fact that he has made the team the last two seasons as an undrafted free agent is good news for him. His special teams contributions and the fact that the Broncos don’t have much safety depth is good news for him.
The Broncos have also got arguably the best undrafted free agent signing in league history in Ring of Fame wide receiver Rod Smith.
Smith was signed as an undrafted player in 1994, made the roster in 1995, and from that point forward he helped the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl titles and staked his claim over just about every team record a wide receiver can set.
Other notable undrafted free agents in team history include wide receiver Lionel Taylor, tight end Dwayne Carswell, and longtime left tackle Matt Lepsis among a number of others.