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The 12th Round Draft History of the Denver Broncos

By KaptainKirk
Matt Stover #3, retired, of the Baltimore Ravens is one of the two best players to ever come out of the 12th round of the draft. Find out which Bronco player was the best. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)
Matt Stover #3, retired, of the Baltimore Ravens is one of the two best players to ever come out of the 12th round of the draft. Find out which Bronco player was the best. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)
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Moving on to the 12th round history of the NFL Draft, you will soon see that the Broncos had the best player in the entire 12 round history, not to mention another guy who stacked up pretty well against the rest of the league.

21 players were drafted in the 12th round by the Broncos

One player was a 3-time All-Pro and two made the Pro Bowl at least one time. Basically those two players were it for the 12th round (9.5%). 15 players were total washouts (71.4%).

  • Karl Mecklenburg - 3x All-Pro, 6x Pro Bowler, 10 yr starter, 180 games, 141 starts, 5 INTs, 79.0 Sacks.
  • Tyrone Braxton - 1x Pro Bowl, 8 yr starter, 181 games, 132 starts, 36 INTs, 3.5 Sacks.


709 players were drafted in the NFL between 1967-93.

It turns out that Mecklenburg and Matt Stover were the only players who made All-Pro status for the 12th round.
6 players went the Pro Bowl at least one time.

27 were the primary starter for 2 or more seasons.
14 were the primary starter for 5 or more seasons.
6 were the primary starter for 8 or more seasons (0.8%).
3 were the primary starter for 10 or more seasons.

  • WR Anthony Carter - 3x Pro Bowls, 9 yr starter, 140 games, 126 starts.
  • WR Keenan McCardell - 2 Pro Bowls, 10 yr starter, 209 games, 168 starts.
  • K Matt Stover - 1x All-Pro, 1x Pro Bowl, 19 yr starter, 297 games, 0 starts.
  • G Carlton Haselrig - 1x Pro Bowl, 3 yr starter, 68 games, 47 starts.


13 started 60 or more games.
11 started 75 or more games.
4 started 125 or more games (0.5%).

39 played in 40 or more games.
21 played in 90 or more games.
12 played in 120 or more games.
6 played in 150 or more games (0.8%).
174 did not play a single game in the NFL (24.6%).
The results say that the Denver Broncos did better with their successes versus the entire league in the 12th round. The league did a better job putting guys on the field, since their washout rate was a mere 24.6% as compared to the Broncos 71.4%. Still, having the best player in the entire 12th round by quite a large margin should add credence for Karl Mecklenburg to have a bust in Canton. By the time I am through with this series, we should know who the lowest drafted player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame really is. At least in the post merger era.

Go Broncos!

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