List of Denver Broncos first-round draft picks explained

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are members of the American Football Conference West Division in the National Football League (NFL). The franchise was formed on August 14, 1959, to compete in the American Football League (AFL). The first AFL Draft was held three months later.[1] The last AFL draft the Broncos participated in was the 1966 draft, due to them joining the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger on June 8, 1966.[2]

The Broncos first participated in the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting, more commonly known as the NFL draft,[3] in 1967. In the NFL Draft, each NFL franchise annually seeks to add new players to its roster. Teams are ranked in reverse order based on the previous season's record; the worst record picks first, the second-worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion always picks 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser always picks 31st. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.[4]

The Broncos selected Roger LeClerc, a placekicker from Trinity College, in the 1960 AFL Draft.[5] In their first NFL Draft, the Broncos selected Floyd Little, a running back from Syracuse University. The Broncos have selected players from the University of Nebraska, University of Florida, and University of Tennessee three times each, the most from any university in the first-round. The team's most recent selections were Tim Tebow, a quarterback from Florida University and Demaryius Thomas, wide receiver from Georgia Tech. Three selections, Floyd Little, Merlin Olsen and Bob Brown, were enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and 2004, respectively.[6] In 1991, Mike Croel became the first Bronco to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, receiving 68 out of 82 votes.[7]

The Broncos' latest first-round pick is University of Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, who they picked 12th overall in the 2024 NFL draft.

Key

^
Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-Selected number one overall -->
—The Broncos did not draft a player in the first round that year.
YearEach year links to an article about that particular AFL, Common, or NFL draft.
PickIndicates the number of the pick within the first round
PositionIndicates the position of the player in the NFL
CollegeThe player's college football team

Player selections

Denver Broncos first-round draft picks
YearPickPlayer namePositionCollegeNotes
1960—CTrinity College
1961—HBNew Mexico State
1962— ^DTUtah State
1963—DBUCLA
1964— ^OTNebraska
1965—— No pick——
1966—OTPurdue
1967 ^RBSyracuse
1968—— No pick——
1969—— No pick——
1970RBColorado
1971OTUSC
1972TEHouston
1973RBPurdue
1974LBOhio State
1975DBSan Jose State
1976GVirginia
1977GBoston College
1978NTMiami (FL)
1979OTNebraska
1980—— No pick——
1981DBUSC
1982RBSan Jose State
1983GNorthwestern
1984—— No pick——
1985RBOklahoma
1986—— No pick——
1987WRFlorida
1988DTSyracuse
1989 ^DBArkansas
1990—— No pick——
1991LBNebraska
1992UCLA
1993DEToledo
1994—— No pick——
1995—— No pick——
1996LBKutztown
1997DTClemson
1998WRTennessee
1999LBTennessee
2000California
2001Minnesota
2002WRHawaii
2003OTGeorgia
2004LBMiami (FL)
2005—— No pick——
2006QBVanderbilt
2007DEFlorida
2008OTBoise State
2009RBGeorgia
2009DETennessee
2010WRGeorgia Tech
2010QBFlorida
2011LBTexas A & M
2012—— No pick——
2013DTNorth Carolina
2014CBOhio State
2015LBMissouri
2016QBMemphis
2017OTUtah
2018DENC State
2019TEIowa
2020WRAlabama
2021CBAlabama
2022No pick (traded to Seattle for Russell Wilson)
2023
2024QBOregon

Footnotes

References

General
Specific

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NFL History by Decade – 1951–1960. National Football League. 12 August 2009. February 9, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070209180120/http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1951-1960. live.
  2. Book: Lahman, Sean . The Pro Football Historical Abstract: A Hardcore Fan's Guide to All-Time Player Rankings. Globe Pequot. 2008. 34 of 576. 978-1-59228-940-0.
  3. News: Branch . John . The 2000 Liars Club/ Draft makes Broncos coach cloak intentions . The Gazette. Find Articles . April 9, 2000 . 15 July 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071023194213/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20000409/ai_n9969057 . October 23, 2007 .
  4. Book: Pittman, Andrew. John Otto Spengler . Sarah J. Young . Case studies in sport law . Human Kinetics. 2008. 41. 978-0-7360-6821-5.
  5. Book: Pennington, Richard. Denver Broncos Trivia Teasers. Big Earth Publishing. 2007. 7 of 145. 978-1-931599-92-4. 19 August 2009.
  6. Web site: Hall of Famers by Year of Enshrinement. Pro Football Hall of Fame. 22 August 2009. July 31, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080731024937/http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/years.html. live.
  7. News: Russell, Croel get rookie honors. December 27, 1991. Associated Press. The Free Lance–Star. B6. 26 August 2009. November 20, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231120161351/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PAwQAAAAIBAJ&pg=7024,4560143. live.
  8. Web site: Broncos; 2008 Media Guide. Denver Broncos. 624 (321 of 362). 1 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716203027/http://broncosv9.tekgroupweb.com/images/9008/Media%20Guides/Denver_Broncos_Media_Guide_2008.pdf. 2011-07-16. dead.
  9. Book: Football Register. Sporting News. 1969. 229. 7 August 2009.
  10. Web site: Devine Defends Horn Trade. Lea . Bud . Bud Lea. September 22, 1971. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 10 August 2009.
  11. News: Jets Trade Matt Robinson to Broncos; Provide Leadership Duel in Training Camp Jets Trade Robinson to Broncos. February 2, 1980. The New York Times. 15. 10 August 2009. July 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180723185858/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/02/02/archives/jets-trade-matt-robinson-to-broncos-provide-leadership-duel-in.html. live.
  12. Web site: Rams took Bettis after Cards selected Hearst. Stein. Joe. April 24, 1994. U-T San Diego. C12.
  13. News: Notable blockbuster trades in NFL history. August 7, 2008. USA Today. 10 August 2009. April 24, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090424083535/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-08-07-notable-nfl-trades_N.htm. live.
  14. Book: Football Register. Sporting News. 1988. 206. 14 August 2009 . Howard M. . Balzer . 978-0-89204-286-9.
  15. News: NFL Draft Trades. April 25, 1989. USA Today. C11.
  16. News: Cowboys make Walsh surprise pick. Barnard. Bill. July 8, 1989. Associated Press. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 11 (6 of 23). 12 August 2009.
  17. Book: Ruxin, Robert. An athlete's guide to agents. 165. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 14 August 2009 . 978-0-7637-2349-1. 2004.
  18. Web site: Broncos; 2008 Media Guide. Denver Broncos. 623 (320 of 362). 1 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716203027/http://broncosv9.tekgroupweb.com/images/9008/Media%20Guides/Denver_Broncos_Media_Guide_2008.pdf. 2011-07-16. dead.
  19. News: The Broncos Acquire Vikings' Zimmerman. August 24, 1993. Los Angeles Times. C7 .
  20. News: Broncos deal for receiver Atlanta's Pritchard goes to Denver in trade involving draft picks.. Associated Press. The Kansas City Star. C2 .
  21. News: Ravens, Broncos swap picks. April 13, 2000. TimesDaily. 1 March 2011. November 20, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231120161352/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A3AeAAAAIBAJ&pg=4045,1677682. live.
  22. Web site: Broncos, Bengals swap draft positions. Pasquarelli. Len. April 9, 2004. ESPN. 10 August 2009. November 3, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121103021122/http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1779007. live.
  23. News: Redskins Swap Draft Picks. LaCanfora. Jason. April 20, 2005. The Washington Post. 11 August 2009. March 4, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025009/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2217-2005Apr19.html. live.
  24. Web site: Falcons send pick to Denver to get Abraham from Jets. Pasquarelli. Len. March 23, 2006. ESPN. 12 August 2009. May 15, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070515104255/http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2378875. live.
  25. Web site: Broncos deal 22nd overall pick to 49ers. April 20, 2006. ESPN. 12 August 2009. August 21, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070821094201/http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2413928. live.
  26. Web site: Rams take Clemson CB Hill with 15th pick. April 29, 2006. ESPN. 12 August 2009. November 3, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121103021727/http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2426859. live.
  27. Web site: Broncos trade up for Florida DE Moss. Legwold. Jeff. April 28, 2007. Rocky Mountain News. 1 March 2011.
  28. Web site: Cutler goes to Bears for Orton, picks. April 3, 2009. ESPN. 12 August 2009. April 5, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090405204947/http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4037373. live.
  29. Web site: Draft trade tracker: Let's make a deal: Broncos make push to get receiver . National Football League . April 22, 2010 . 1 March 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100425001108/http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d817b4621&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true . April 25, 2010 .
  30. Web site: Draft trade tracker: Let's make a deal: Broncos take a chance on Tebow . National Football League . April 22, 2010 . 1 March 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100425001108/http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d817b4621&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true . April 25, 2010 .

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