Broncos All-Time Roster: Tight ends

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 at tight end

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Top Three:
1. Shannon Sharpe
2. Julius Thomas
3. Riley Odoms

Honorable Mentions:
4. Daniel Graham
5. Noah Fant
6. Dwayne Carswell

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Shannon Sharpe

The Denver Broncos selected Shannon Sharpe out of Savannah State in the seventh round of the 1990 NFL Draft. He retired 14 seasons later as the all-time leader in catches, yards and touchdowns by a tight end.

His breakout year came during his third season when he led the Broncos in receiving with 53 catches for 640 yards to earn his first of eight Pro Bowl nods. Other than an injury-shortened 1999 campaign, Sharpe never caught less than 60 passes in a season for the remainder of his career.

Sharpe led the Broncos in receiving six times and the Ravens once. He was named first-team All-Pro and All-AFC in 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998 and was selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s.

Julius Thomas

Julius Thomas was a fourth-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and became a two-time Pro Bowler for the Broncos before departing in free agency in 2015.

In Thomas’ two years as a Pro Bowler from 2013-14, no tight end totaled more touchdowns than his 24. In 2014, he earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors in the season opener after recording seven receptions for 104 yards and three touchdowns.

After his time with the Broncos from 2011-14, Thomas spent two seasons with the Jaguars before his final NFL season with the Miami Dolphins.

Riley Odoms

The Broncos took Riley Odoms in the first-round of the 1972 NFL Draft (fifth overall). Odoms played 153 games for the club.

Odoms recorded 396 catches for 5,755 yards and 41 TDs over a career that spanned from 1972-83. He was part of the Broncos’ first Super Bowl experience and was a four-time Pro-Bowler.