The Lead
In their franchise history, the Broncos have been fortunate enough to make a few trades to bring future Pro Football Hall of Famers to Denver.
Denver acquired John Elway s rights in 1983, and they made a deal for Gary Zimmerman in 1993.
On this date 17 years ago, the Broncos officially completed their third when they announced the team had completed a trade for cornerback Champ Bailey. To celebrate this anniversary, let s take a closer look back at how the deal came together and how it changed the course of the franchise.
At the time, Bailey was coming off four straight Pro Bowl seasons in Washington, but they had no intention to keep him. Instead, they placed the franchise tag on him and allowed him to seek out trade partners.
The Lead
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has gotten quite the injection of orange and blue in recent years.
No team has more inductees in the last five years, as Denver has seen Terrell Davis (2017), Pat Bowlen (2019), Champ Bailey (2019), Steve Atwater (2020), John Lynch (2021) and Peyton Manning (2021) elected to receive their gold jackets.
But, as always, we want to see more Broncos in the Hall. While Tom Jackson and Rod Smith received consideration, Gradishar remains the greatest Bronco who is still waiting for his place in Canton, Bryan DeArdo wrote. The 14th overall pick in the 1974 draft, Gradishar earned All-Pro honors in 1977 while leading Denver s Orange Crush defense, a unit that helped spearhead the Broncos first Super Bowl appearance.
How the last 10 players to go seventh overall in the NFL draft have fared
Updated Feb 16, 2021;
Posted Feb 16, 2021
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) reacts after throwing a touchdown pass in the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/John Munson)AP
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The Detroit Lions pick seventh in this year’s draft, and the recent run in that slot has delivered some impressive talent over the previous decade.
Carolina landed defensive tackle Derrick Brown last year, while we’re only a couple of years removed from the Bills selecting franchise quarterback Josh Allen at Pick 7. The Lions have picked seventh four times since 1960, landing running back Mel Farr (1967), defensive end Reggie Rogers (1987), quarterback Andre Ware (1990) and wide receiver Roy Williams (2004). The seventh overall pick has produced two Pro Football Hall of Famers in former Bears center Bulldog Turner (1940-1952) a