3 players the Denver Broncos gave up on way too soon

3. Elvis Dumervil, DE

Three of the best players the Denver Broncos gave up on too soon just so happen to be from the same 2006 NFL Draft class. Just like Brandon Marshall, Elvis Dumervil was a fourth-round pick in the 2006 Draft, and just like Marshall, he was quick to make an impact in the Mile High City. Dumervil had 8.5 sacks as a rotational player in his rookie season in Denver before becoming a full-time starter in year two. Starting all 16 games in just his second NFL season, Dumervil had 12.5 sacks, 19 quarterback hits, and a whopping four forced fumbles. He was a game-changer. 

By 2009, Dumervil was one of the top game-wreckers in the NFL. He earned an All-Pro nod and finished third in NFL Defensive MVP voting after notching 17 sacks and four forced fumbles along with 21 hits on the QB. He earned a second contract from the Broncos but unfortunately suffered a torn pectoral in the 2010 offseason. He picked up right where he left off in 2011 and 2012, making the Pro Bowl both years and forcing a career-best six fumbles in the 2012 season.

When his contract expired in the 2013 offseason, the Denver Broncos made the impossible error of taking negotiations with Dumervil down to the wire. A now-infamous fax machine snafu prevented a new deal with Denver going through with the league office, and Dumervil went from having a third contract in Denver to getting a big-money deal from the (reigning Super Bowl champion) Baltimore Ravens instead. He would go on to average 11 sacks per year for the next three years in Baltimore, and Denver sorely missed him in the 2013 season as injuries mounted on their defensive front, including losing Von Miller to a torn ACL.