30 greatest Denver Broncos players of all time

2. Peyton Manning, QB

One of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, Peyton Manning finished his historic career by winning it all. Manning spent 13 years playing for the Indianapolis Colts and won a Super Bowl with that franchise. He was then released ahead of the 2012 season after having neck surgery.

Denver was able to lure him to the Mile High City, where he spent his final four years in the league. In that time, Manning had 17,112 yards passing with 140 touchdowns and just 53 interceptions. His most impressive campaign in Denver was during 2013 when he had 5,477 yards passing and 55 touchdowns. The Broncos made it to the Super Bowl that year, but Seattle ran away with the win.

Manning and the Broncos were back two years later, and while he was far from the player we saw during his time in Indy — and the first three years in Denver — he did enough to end on the highest of high notes.

1. John Elway, QB

Manning walking away with a Lombardi Trophy was reminicsent of how the greatest Denver Bronco of all time ended his career.

Although this player did it twice.

John Elway was also drafted by the Colts, but they were still in Baltimore at the time. He used his potential baseball career as leverage to force a trade and wound up with the Broncos, where he turned into a star. Known for his rocket arm, Elway threw for a franchise-leading 51,475 yards with 300 touchdown passes. While he was always one of the best in the game, his teams continually fell short of winning it all.

That changed in 1997 when a 37-year-old Elway led the Broncos to a 12-4 record and then took home the title with a win over Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. He returned for one final season, and again, the Broncos won it all. This tine, they ran over the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons, winning all three games by two scores or more.

After his career ended, Elway became an executive in Denver and was credited with signing Peyton Manning. He will always be praised for his work on the field but also deserves applause for helping the franchise win another title after his playing career was done.

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