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Denver Broncos: Ranking the team’s 5 best free-agent signings since 2010

By Travis Wakeman

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 8: T.J. Ward #43 and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware #94 of the Denver Broncos celebrate after a play against the Carolina Panthers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on September 8, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 8: T.J. Ward #43 and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware #94 of the Denver Broncos celebrate after a play against the Carolina Panthers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on September 8, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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T.J. Ward, Denver Broncos
SANTA CLARA, CA – FEBRUARY 07: T.J. Ward #43 of the Denver Broncos recovers a fumble by Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium on February 7, 2016, in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

5. T.J. Ward, 2014

After four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, T.J. Ward went to one Pro Bowl and had established himself as one of the best safeties in the league. That is what made him a perfect option for the Broncos, who were looking for a better option than Duke Ihenacho, who was one of the starting safeties the season before.

The Broncos were coming off of a devastating loss in Super Bowl XLVIII in which they were punked around by a much more physical Seattle Seahawks squad. The Broncos took a page out of the Seahawks’ playbook after watching the impact that Kam Chancellor had in that Super Bowl and decided that they needed an enforcer themselves.

That was Ward.

He made the Pro Bowl following his first season in Denver and became the physical leader of the defense that the team had been sorely lacking.

Ward also played a crucial role in the team’s Super Bowl victory in 2015. Not surprisingly, the team won that Super Bowl in the same fashion they were beaten two years prior, by being physical and smacking around the Carolina Panthers with defense.

Ward was a major part of the team’s success.

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