Denver Broncos: 5 players you probably forgot were on the team
5. Ron Dayne, RB
Speaking of the 2005 Denver Broncos…
Ron Dayne is one of the greatest college running backs of all-time.
The New York Giants made him a first-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft (11th overall) after he rushed for over 7,000 yards and 71 touchdowns.
It didn’t quite translate to the NFL as Dayne averaged only 3.5 yards per carry for his four years with the New York Giants with 16 touchdowns.
After he was let go following the 2004 season, the Denver Broncos and Mike Shanahan with his zone-blocking scheme pounced.
Although his impact in Denver was minimal, he was the star of the 2005 Thanksgiving Day game against the Dallas Cowboys, carrying the ball just seven times but for 98 yards and a touchdown in a vintage performance that had people thinking Dayne had turned back the clock to 1999.
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That performance somewhat revived Dayne’s career as he then followed Gary Kubiak to the Houston Texans in 2006-07, and ran for 1,385 yards in two seasons with 11 touchdowns.