The Lead
We may not be even a quarter of the way through the 21st century, but Chris Simms, Ahmed Fareed and Sunday Night Football on NBC are asking fans to pick the best Broncos player from that period — and boy, are there some great options.
As they note, this is not including quarterbacks, so no Peyton Manning here. But let's take a look at the resumes for each of their suggested candidates from just their Broncos tenures with comments from Simms from their “Unbuttoned” podcast:
Von Miller: Super Bowl 50 champion, Super Bowl 50 MVP, unanimous selection to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, three-time first-team All-Pro, four-time second-team All-Pro, eight Pro Bowl selections, 2011 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, franchise leader in career and single-season sacks
Champ Bailey: Pro Football Hall of Fame member, first-team selection to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, one Super Bowl appearance, three-time first-team All-Pro, two-time second-team All-Pro, eight Pro Bowl selections, 2006 interceptions leader, 1999 NFL All-Rookie Team selection
Chris Harris Jr.: Super Bowl 50 champion, selected to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, one-time first-team All-Pro, two-time second-team All-Pro, four Pro Bowl selections
"One of the premiere nickel cover guys we've had of the last decade and, of course, a huge part of why they won the Super Bowl and beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50," Simms said of Harris.
Demaryius Thomas: Super Bowl 50 champion, two Super Bowl appearances, two-time second-team All-Pro, five Pro Bowl selections, franchise leader in single-season and single-game receiving yards and single-season receiving touchdowns, second in franchise history in career receiving yards and receiving touchdowns
"Stats, longevity and the importance of his role for that team, it was up there," Simms said of Thomas. "They went to two Super Bowls because of Demaryius Thomas and his ability to make big plays."
Ryan Clady: Super Bowl 50 champion, two-time first-team All-Pro, one-time second-team All-Pro, four Pro Bowl selections
"Certainly one of the best tackles I ever played with," Simms said. "… He's a franchise left tackle."
