Champ Bailey voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019

The Denver Broncos finally have defensive representation in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as Champ Bailey has been elected for the Class of 2019 during his first year of eligibility. He played 15 seasons, 10 in Denver and 5 in Washington.

When asked on Friday what it would mean to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame the same year as Pat Bowlen, Bailey said, “Everything. One thing about 2004, when I got traded, I didn’t know what to expect. I was still a little young, hungry NFL player. But to go to a first-class franchise like the Broncos, it meant a lot. I didn’t understand why it was first class until I got there and a feel for who Pat Bowlen was. I never thought that we both would have a chance to go in the same year.”

Bailey, a seventh-overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, ended up with the Broncos after a blockbuster trade in 2004 that send Bailey to Denver and star running back Clinton Portis to the Redskins.

He’d already had four Pro Bowl trips in his first five seasons, but with the Broncos he added another eight Pro Bowls and three First-Team All-Pro selections. In short, Champ Bailey was the best cornerback to ever don the orange and blue. It is fitting he will be the first to don the gold jacket as well.