Broncos All-Time Roster: Quarterbacks

The Denver Broncos have seen a plethora of talented players since the merger of the American and National Football Leagues in 1970.

While it may be easy for Broncos Country to explain why a particular quarterback or running back is the best of his generation, this list is here to tackle which Broncos players are the best of all time.

Every Fan host was tasked with ranking top Broncos players’ skillsets to come up with the greatest Broncos roster.

This all-time roster will have a few no-brainers on it, but ultimately the Fan hosts decided who was the best of the best.

Here is the Broncos’ all-time roster starting at quarterback.

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Top Three:
1. Peyton Manning
2. John Elway
3. Jake Plummer

Honorable Mentions:
4. Craig Morton
5. Trevor Siemian
6. Jay Cutler

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Peyton Manning

Much like his selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Broncos’ Ring of Fame, the greatness of Peyton Manning makes it as close to a slam dunk as imaginable to be listed at the top of the all-time quarterback roster.

Perhaps ‘The Sheriff’s’ most noteworthy accomplishment was becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to both start and win a Super Bowl with two different clubs — the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos.

Manning posted a Hall of Fame-worthy career in just four seasons with the Broncos. In the orange and blue, Manning threw for 140 touchdowns and 17,112 yards. He ranks second in team history in passing yards, completions and touchdown passes, while his completion percentage is the best in franchise history.

At the time of his retirement, Manning held NFL records for passing touchdowns (539), passing yards (71,940) and quarterback starts won by his team (186, tied with Brett Favre). His single-season records of 5,477 yards passing and 55 touchdowns, set in 2013 with the Broncos, still stand.

John Elway 

Perhaps another no-brainer, John Elway tops the all-time list at No. 2 as he was the first quarterback to start in five Super Bowls. Denver appeared in three Super Bowls over a four-year span from 1986-1989.

Of course most notable, who could forget The Drive? Down by a touchdown late in the 1986 AFC Championship Game, Elway mounted “The Drive” that led to an overtime win over the Browns. Elway won league MVP the following season while leading the Broncos back to the Super Bowl.

Elway’s 31 fourth-quarter comebacks put him in a tie with Marino for second all-time (and three comebacks behind Johnny Unitas) at the time of his retirement.

According to Pro Football Reference’s Hall of Fame Monitor, Elway compiled the eighth greatest career by a quarterback in NFL history.

A member of the NFL 100 All-Time Team, Elway’s 137.78 points puts him behind Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Unitas, Joe Montana, and Drew Brees.

Jake Plummer

Plummer joined the Broncos as a free agent in 2003 following a six-year stint in Arizona to begin his career.

Plummer provided stability at the quarterback position after John Elway’s retirement that for the better part of four seasons.

“Jake the Snake” started 54 games during his four years in Denver and led the Broncos to playoff berths in three consecutive seasons from 2003-05. He also set the franchise record for passing yards in a game when he threw for 499 yards against the Falcons.

During his time with the Denver Broncos Plummer was named to one Pro Bowl, received three Offensive Player of the Week honors and has the second-highest winning percentage as a starting quarterback in team history (.722, min. 25 starts).