"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." -- Lloyd Alexander.
Denver vs Washington, Super Bowl XXII
In the first two parts of this series, we looked at the Broncos' draft picks from round 5 and later in the 1960s and 1970s. In this article, we will be looking at the 78 players drafted in the later rounds by the Broncos from 1980 through 1989. The 1980s saw the Broncos rise quickly from the bottom dwellers of the 1960s to the middle of the pack teams of the 1970s to true prominence as a team that would be consistently in contention come playoff time, as the Broncos made their way into three Super Bowls during that decade. What role did the late round draft picks play in that success?
More After the Fold
In their first decade (1960-1969) the Broncos never experienced a winning season. Their best season was in 1962, when under the leadership of HC Jack Faulker, QB Frank Tripucka, RB Donnie Stone, and WR Lionel Taylor, the Broncos posted a 7-7 record. The rest of the 60s, from a W/L point of view, was rather forgettable. The 1970s saw Denver begin to establish respectability as a professional football franchise, by posting their first winning season in 1973, on their way to having 5 winning seasons over the 6 years. It was during this time that Denver made it's first three post season appearances:
1977 -- 12-2 in the regular season, beating Pittsburgh 34-21 in the Divisional round, defeating the Oakland Raiders 20-17 in the AFC Championship, only to lose to Dallas 27-10 in Super Bowl XII.
1978 -- 10-6 in the regular season, lost to Pittsburgh 33-10 in the Divisional round.
1979 -- 10-6 in the regular season, lost to the Houston Oilers 13-7 in the Wildcard round.
The 1980s saw the Broncos build upon that early start. After an 8-8 season in 1980, HC Red Miller was replaced by Dan Reeves. In the remaining 9 years of the 1980s, Reeves' Broncos posted 7 winning seasons, 1 8-8 season, and 1 losing season (when they went 2-7 in the strike shortened 1982 season). Under Reeves, Denver appeared in the post season 5 times, including appearances in Super Bowls XXI, XXII and XXIV.
A part of achieving these successes lie in the 78 late round (5th or later) draft picks made by the Broncos. During the 1980s, the NFL still had 12 rounds in the draft. 36 of those choices failed to make the team, nor caught on with any other team. However, as we will see, among the 42 players that did make the team we find some notable names from Broncos history: Keith Bishop, Sammy Winder, and Karl Mecklenberg to name a few.
1980 -- 5 Players (+3 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
5 |
Mike Harden |
DB |
1980-1988 |
Started 98 out of 128 games; made 1 sack; intercepted 33 passes for 643 yards and 4 TDs; recovered 11 fumbles |
5 |
Laval Short |
NT |
1980 |
Played 15 games for Denver |
6 |
Keith Bishop |
OG |
1980-1989 |
Played 129 games, started 87; elected to the Pro Bowl in 1986 & 1987; Elected 2nd team All Pro in 1986 & 1987 |
9 |
Greg Bracelin |
LB |
1980 |
Played 12 games for the Broncos; recorded no stats |
10 |
Virgil Seay |
WR |
N/A |
Did not play for the Broncos |
Four of the five players to make pro rosters started their careers with Denver; the most notable were Mike Harden and Keith Bishop.
1981 -- 2 Players (+5 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
5 |
Ken Lanier |
OT |
1981-1992, 1994 |
Started 165 out of 177 games; recovered 4 fumbles |
7 |
Steve Busick |
LB |
1981-1985 |
Played in 73 games, started 47; made 2 interceptions and recovered 4 fumbles |
Both players started their careers with the Broncos. Lanier played 12 years with Denver, spent one year away then closed out his career with the Broncos.
1982 -- 3 Players (+3 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
5 |
Sammy Winder |
RB |
1982-1990 |
Started 83 out of 127 games; rushed 1495 times for 5427 yards and 39 TDs; caught 197 passes for 1302 yards and 9 TDs; returned 5 kicks for 66 yards; led the team in rushing from 1983 to 1987; elected to 2 Pro Bowls (84 & 86); elected to 2nd Team All Pro (84) |
9 |
Keith Uecker |
OT |
1982-1983 |
Played in 21 games, started twice |
10 |
Ken Woodard |
LB |
1982-1986 |
Started 13 out of 73 games; recorded 11 sacks; Intercepted 2 passes with 1 TD; recovered 2 fumbles and returned 1 for a TD |
This was a draft class that saw two players (Winder and Woodard) make strong contributions to the team. Winder was the 2nd diamond in the rough found in the late rounds in the 1980s (the first being Keith Bishop).
1983 -- 6 Players (+3 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
6 |
Victor Heflin |
DB |
N/A |
Did not play for Denver |
7 |
Myron Dupree |
DB |
1983 |
Played in 16 games |
8 |
Gary Kubiak |
QB |
1983-1991 |
Played 119 games, started 5; completed 173 passes for 1920 yards and 14 TDs with 16 Ints; rushed 65 times for 238 yards and 2 TDs; caught 1 pass for 20 yards; went on to become an assistant coach with the Broncos and eventually to become the HC of the Houston Texans |
10 |
Walt Bowyer |
DE |
1983-1988 |
Started 18 games out of 61 played; recorded 6.5 sacks; intercepted 1 pass; recovered 2 fumbles |
11 |
Don Bailey |
C |
N/A |
Did not play for Denver |
12 |
Karl Mecklenberg |
LB |
1983-1994 |
Known as the Albino Rhino, he started 141 out of 180 games for the Broncos; recorded 79 sacks; intercepted 5 passes; forced 16 fumbles; recovered 14 fumbles, including 2 returned for TDs; made 1104 tackles; elected to the Pro Bowl 6 times; elected 1st team All Pro 3 times; inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame in 2001 |
An okay class so far as the number of players signed goes, this was a class that brought two player who will long remain a significant part of Broncos history: Gary Kubiak and Karl Mecklenberg.
1984 -- 7 Players (+1 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
6 |
Aaron Smith |
LB |
1984 |
Played 10 games; returned 1 kick for 2 yards |
7 |
Clarence Kay |
TE |
1984-1992 |
Started 126 out of 135 games; caught 193 passes for 2136 yards and 13 TDs; returned 2 kicks for 10 yards |
8 |
Winford Hood |
OG |
1984-1988 |
Played 47 games, started 9 |
8 |
Scott Garnett |
NT |
1984 |
Started 1 game out of 16; had 1 sack and recovered 1 fumble |
9 |
Chris Brewer |
RB |
1984 |
Played in 13 games; rushed 10 times for 28 yards; caught 2 passes for 20 yards |
10 |
Bobby Micho |
TE |
1986-1987 |
Drafted by the Broncos in 1984, played for San Diego in 1985, returned to the Broncos in 1986; played in 20 games with 3 starts; caught 25 passes for 242 yards and 2 TDs; rushed 4 times for 8 yards |
11 |
Gene Lang |
RB |
1984-1987 |
Played 55 games, started 10; rushed 210 times for 757 yards and 10 TDs; caught 57 passes for 439 yards and 7 TDs; returned 61 kicks for 1323 yards |
A good late round draft class in terms of getting production for the entire group. The production however, with the exception of Clarence Kay and Gene Lang was minimal.
1985 -- 1 Players (+7 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
9 |
Daryl Smith |
DB |
N/A |
Did not play for Denver |
A disappointing late round draft class -- 8 players drafted only 1 established a pro career, and it wasn't with the Broncos.
1986 -- 6 Players (+2 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
5 |
Tony Colorito |
NT |
1986 |
Played 15 games; no recorded stats |
6 |
Orson Mobley |
TE |
1986-1990 |
Played 61 games, started 31; caught 84 passes for 1019 yards with 4 TDs; returned 1 kick for 9 yards |
6 |
Mark Jackson |
WR |
1986-1992 |
Started 68 out of 100 games; caught 276 passes for 4746 yards with 24 TDs; rushed 18 times for 69 yards and 1 TD; returned 4 kicks for 41 yards |
7 |
Ray T Phillips |
LB |
N/A |
Did not play for Denver |
8 |
Bruce Klosterman |
LB |
1987-1989 |
Played 37 games for Denver; no recorded stats |
9 |
Joe Thomas |
WR |
N/A |
Did not play for Denver |
Two notable Broncos came out of this set of late round picks: Orson Mobley and Mark Jackson. Both were contributors during Denver's Super Bowl runs.
1987 -- 5 Players (+3 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
6 |
Warren Marshall |
RB |
1987 |
Played 1 game for Denver |
7 |
Wilbur Strozier |
TE |
N/A |
Did not play for the Broncos |
8 |
Dan Morgan |
OG |
N/A |
Did not play for Denver |
9 |
Bruce Plummer |
DB |
See Notes |
Played 11 games in 1987, 8 games in 1988, 7 games in 1990, mixed in with tenures in Miami, Indianapolis, San Francisco and Philadelphia; intercepted 1 pass for Denver |
12 |
Tyrone Braxton |
DB |
1987-1993, 1995-1999 |
Played 165 games, split by a season in Miami; started 132 games for the Broncos; recorded 3.5 sacks; intercepted 34 passes for 614 yards and 4 TDs; forced 8 fumbles; recovered 10 fumbles; was elected to 1 Pro Bowl (1996) |
Tyrone Braxton was the lone bright spot in an otherwise disappointing late round draft class.
1988 -- 2 Players (+5 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
7 |
Pat Kelly |
TE |
1988-1989 |
Played in 32 games; caught 4 passes for 17 yards |
9 |
Mel Farr |
RB |
N/A |
Did not play for Denver |
Another disappointing draft class in the late rounds.
1989 -- 5 Players (+4 that did not make the team, nor any other team)
Round |
Player |
Position |
Years w/Broncos |
Notes |
5 |
Darren Carrington |
DB |
1989 |
Played 16 games; intercepted 1 pass |
7 |
Mel Bratton |
RB |
1989-1990 |
Played 32 games, started 6; rushed 57 times for 190 yards and 4 TDs; caught 39 passes for 349 yards and 4 TDs; returned 5 kicks for 57 yards |
8 |
Paul Green |
TE |
1989 |
Made the team but did not play in any games |
9 |
Monte Smith |
OG |
1989 |
Played in 14 games, never started |
11 |
Richard Shelton |
DB |
1989 |
Played in 3 games, recorded no stats |
Still another late round disappointment for the Broncos in terms of draft picks. Bratton was the only serious contributor. The majority of the picks started with the Broncos but ended their careers with other teams.
Some Observations
1)The 1980s saw two things begin for the Broncos: the team began their rise to being a consistently competitive and winning team, and more late round players began to have an impact on the fortunes of the Denver franchise.
2)From 1980 to 1989, the Broncos drafted 78 players in round 5 or later, the fewest late round picks to date.
3)Of those 78 players, 36 failed to make the Broncos or any other NFL team.
4)Of the 42 that were drafted and became pro football players, only 33 began their careers with the Broncos, the best percentage to date.
4)The average Broncos career for these 33 players was 4.5 years; an increase of over a year from the 1970s late round draft picks.
5)Broncos fans can celbrate some good things that came about, in part, because of the contributions of these 33 late round choices:
1982 -- Denver's only losing season, which came in a strike shortened year
1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989 -- Playoff appearances
1986, 1987, 1989 -- Super Bowl Appearances
The addition of Mike Harden, Keith Bishop, Ken Lanier, Sammy Winder, Gary Kubiak, Karl Mecklenberg, Clarence Kay, Orson Mobley, Mark Jackson and Tyrone Braxton to the list of notable Broncos players who came out of the later rounds.
6)The drafts of the 1980s reflect the solidifying of the Broncos as a true Super Bowl competitor, and Denver's increasing ability to find impact players in the later rounds.