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Denver Broncos: Looking back at most unheralded players in team history

By Travis Wakeman

LOS ANGELES,CA-CIRCA 1986 Rulon Jones of the Denver Broncs against the Los Angeles Raiders at the Coliseum circa 1986 in Los Angeles,California. (Photo by Owen C. Shaw/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES,CA-CIRCA 1986 Rulon Jones of the Denver Broncs against the Los Angeles Raiders at the Coliseum circa 1986 in Los Angeles,California. (Photo by Owen C. Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Denver Broncos, Steve Sewell
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 4: Steve Sewell #30 of the Denver Broncos carries the ball against the Los Angeles Raiders during an NFL football game December 4, 1988 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. Sewell played for the Broncos from 1985-91. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Steve Sewell

During Elway’s early years in the league, the team brought in Steve Sewell as a first-round pick out of Oklahoma to give him a do-it-all running back who could be an effective receiver out of the backfield.

Sewell was a good runner, but he was an even better receiver. He caught 187 passes in his seven seasons with the team and gained 2,354 yards. That receiving yardage still ranks in the top 20  for career receiving yards in team history.

But Sewell was also the ultimate team player. He was more than just a safety valve for Elway, though he was great at that too and he was also the prototypical third-down back.

The Broncos never featured Sewell as its every-down running back because that wasn’t his game. But as a situational player who could come in and do a little bit of everything, he was a perfect fit in Denver.

Sewell even completed three passes during his career, all to Elway. One of those came in the team’s loss to Washington in Super Bowl XXII. Though Sewell never won a Super Bowl with the Broncos, he was part of three teams that got to one.

Sewell still lives in the Denver area and eventually went into coaching at both the college and high school level.

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