By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos’ total of Pro Football Hall of Famers is now at 8 with Steve Atwater being inducted this year. He may have to wait until next year to give his introduction speech due to the COVID19 Pandemic. Quarterback Peyton Manning will most likely follow him next year. This had me thinking what other Broncos players deserve to be in.
On the defense, two players come to mind, linebackers Simon Fletcher and Karl Mecklenburg. Simon Fletcher played for the Denver Broncos from 1985 to 1995. In his time in the Mile High City, he was one of the best blitzing linebackers, racking up 97.5 sacks, 2nd in Denver Broncos’ history. Von Miller has since passed Fletcher on the All-Time sacks list in Broncos history.
Fletcher could tackle an opponent in the open field. He rarely missed a tackle with 808. Fletcher changed the course of the game by forcing fumbles. Those forced fumbles ended drives for opposing offenses and gave the Broncos offense decent field position to score. Fletcher forced 20 of them in his career. Fletcher helped the Broncos go to 3 Super Bowls. There is no way a person can talk about the history of the Denver Broncos’ defense without the name Fletcher. He deserves to be in.
Another Broncos’ defender who has been snubbed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame is Karl Mecklenburg. Mecklenburg was in a Broncos’ uniform from 1983 to 1994. Mecklenburg was a linebacker who quarterbacks needed to know where he was lined up. His speed allowed him to stop a running play or sack the quarterback. Mecklenburg totaled 1,104 tackles and 79 sacks in his career. He forced 16 fumbles. With his play, the Broncos went to 3 Super Bowls. He was also voted onto 6 Pro Bowls and placed on the All-Pro team 4 times. These stats show he ought to have more consideration to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
On offense, there is one name that comes to mind, Rod Smith. Smith wasn’t even drafted. He earned his way on the team as an undrafted free agent in 1994. Little did the Denver Broncos know he was going to become the top wide receiver in Broncos’ history. Smith’s career lasted from 1995 to 2006.
A great year for a wide receiver is 1,000 yards receiving. Smith went over that yardage 8 times. His best year was in 2000 when he totaled 1,602 yards. His career high for touchdowns was in 1997 with 12. Smith ended his career with 11,389 yards which is number 1 in Broncos history and the most for an undrafted free agent. He scored 68 touchdowns.
The Broncos won two Super Bowls with him, Super Bowl 32 and 33. Smith was voted into 3 Pro Bowls. Smith hasn’t received much attention from the Pro Football Hall of Fame committee. They need to take a deeper look at his numbers. Those stats show he is a Hall of Fame player.
All of these athletes have earned the right to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hopefully, they will be enshrined in the next few years to show they weren’t only the top players in Broncos’ history but NFL history.
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