The Denver Broncos have never held the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft in franchise history. That hasn't prevented the #1 overall picks in the NFL Draft from making an impact on the franchise. As a matter of fact, the Denver Broncos' entire franchise legacy depends largely on two former #1 overall picks in particular, and it's safe to say that the three former #1 overall picks that have suited up in orange and blue have played on the best teams in Denver Broncos history.
But which former #1 overall picks in the NFL Draft have suited up for the Denver Broncos? How did the Broncos acquire them?
Let's take a look at these former #1 overall picks, and take a little trip down memory lane.
Former #1 overall draft picks to play for the Denver Broncos
1. John Elway, QB (1983-1998)
The first former #1 overall pick to play for the Denver Broncos was John Elway, the top overall pick of the 1983 NFL Draft. Elway was the best QB prospect in an absolutely loaded class at the time, one that included fellow Hall of Famers Jim Kelly (Buffalo Bills) and Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins).
The Broncos held the 4th overall pick in the 1983 Draft and ultimately, that meant they had lost the John Elway lottery at the time. Fortunately for them, Elway didn't want to play for the Baltimore Colts and forced a trade. If the Colts didn't agree to trade him, Elway threatened he would play professional baseball for the New York Yankees, who had selected him in the 2nd round of the 1981 MLB Draft. The Yankees weren't even the only MLB team to draft Elway. The Kansas City Royals took him out of high school in 1979 as well.
The threat of playing baseball meant the Colts could either trade Elway or risk getting no value for that no. 1 overall pick. They traded Elway to the Broncos and the rest, as they say, is history.
Elway is widely recognized as the best player in Denver Broncos history. Had he not forced a trade during the 1983 NFL Draft, who knows where the Broncos would be as a franchise today? John Elway is the Denver Broncos. He never played for another NFL team, spending each of his 16 NFL seasons in Denver before ultimately becoming the Broncos' GM from 2011-2020.
Like I said, John Elway is the Denver Broncos.
2. Courtney Brown, DE (2005-06)
It was only for a brief time, but one of the three former #1 overall NFL Draft picks to play for the Denver Broncos was the top pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, former Penn State star Courtney Brown.
Courtney Brown started every game of his rookie season, finishing 4th in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting after racking up 16 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, and 8 batted passes. He was obviously expected to come in and give the Cleveland Browns a true defensive cornerstone piece along with their top pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, quarterback Tim Couch.
Unfortunately for the Browns, neither Tim Couch nor Courtney Brown ever became fixtures for the team. In fact, they would probably be considered among the team's lengthy list of NFL Draft busts. But in his lone year with the Denver Broncos, Courtney Brown was a key piece of one of the best and most underrated defenses in Broncos franchise history.
Although he signed a lengthy big-money contract with the Broncos, Courtney Brown simply couldn't stay healthy enough to remain in the NFL beyond that 2005 season in Denver. He was able to play in 14 games for the Broncos in 2005, racking up 24 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, and a batted pass.
The 2005 Denver Broncos defense ranked 3rd best in the NFL in points allowed, and they were a team that simply couldn't be run on. They had the 2nd-best run defense in the league that year and they forced a ton of turnovers -- 36 in all. Teams were forced to throw against this team thanks to the dominance up front of guys like Courtney Brown and the rest of the "Brown-cos" like Gerard Warren, Michael Myers, and Ebenezer Ekuban.
3. Peyton Manning (2012-15)
The Peyton Manning era for the Denver Broncos is, for some fans of the team, the best they can really even remember.
Peyton Manning was the #1 overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1998 NFL Draft, a pick famous for the decision the Colts had to make, at the time, between Manning and fellow star prospect Ryan Leaf.
It's one of the most fortunate decisions in NFL Draft history as Manning turned out to be an all-time great and Ryan Leaf quickly became a major NFL Draft bust.
For many years, Peyton Manning terrorized the Denver Broncos (and everyone else he played against) to the tune of four MVP awards and eight top-five finishes in MVP voting from 1999-2010 as one of the most dominant players in NFL history. Manning was 6-2 against the Denver Broncos in regular season play and 2-0 against the Broncos in the playoffs for a stellar 8-2 record against the Broncos overall.
One of those two losses to Denver came in a game in which Manning started but threw only two passes (2004). Manning didn't miss that game due to injury, either. The Colts put him on the sideline after letting him get the start because they were about to play the Broncos the very next week in the playoffs. In that very next week, Manning torched Denver for the second consecutive year with a 145.7 passer rating and 458 yards passing with 4 TDs.
The year before that, Manning had a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Broncos in the playoffs.
Needless to say, before Manning came to Denver to wear the orange and blue, he was hated by Broncos Country. The reasons are obvious.
Then, he became arguably the most beloved figure in Denver sports history with one of the best four-year stretches you will ever see for a QB in NFL history. Even with the struggle that was Manning's 2015 season, he managed to quickly ascend to 2nd in Denver Broncos history with over 17,000 passing yards as a Bronco. That included his record-setting 2013 season in which he threw for 5,477 yards en route to his 5th NFL MVP Award.
Even with the inclusion of a 17th game, no quarterback in today's NFL has been able to top that. That still stands alone as the most in NFL history, as does Manning's record of an astounding 55 touchdown passes that season. Only three players in league history have even reached 50 (Tom Brady in 2007, Patrick Mahomes in 2018).
Manning became the first quarterback in NFL history to lead multiple teams to a Super Bowl victory and he walked off into the sunset following Super Bowl 50.