For decades, the tight end position has been a staple of the Denver Broncos offense. And at several points in time, you could easily have made the case that the best tight end in the NFL resided on the Broncos offense.
The team may be a little talent bare at that position right now, at least in terms of All-Pro talent, but there’s potential, especially in a guy like Jeff Heurerman, who missed the entirety of his rookie season with a torn ACL.
But before we jump into the future, let’s take a look back into the past and break down the five greatest tight ends in Denver Broncos history.
5. Daniel Graham
Years With Broncos: 2007-2010 (4 seasons)
Stats With Broncos: 102 receptions; 1,072 yards; 7 touchdowns
Career Accolades: 2-time Super Bowl Champion (Patriots)
This is probably the most controversial of the five, and that’s fair. A guy like Clarence Kay, who played nearly a decade with the team would be well deserving of this spot, too. But for me, personally, I’ve got to give it to Daniel Graham — if John Lynch can make the Ring of Fame after four seasons in Denver, Graham can make my top-five list.
Graham was an old-school, throwback tight end, a guy who did his work on the line of scrimmage, not in the opposing team’s secondary; at his best, he totaled 32 receptions, 389 yards and four touchdowns in 2008 for the Broncos.
What he brought, though, was leadership, stability and blocking, the last of which is often overlooked when talking about tight ends.
4. Tony Scheffler
Years With Broncos: 2006-2009 (4 seasons)
Stats With Broncos: 138 receptions; 1,896 yards; 14 touchdowns
Career Accolades: None
This may be an indication of the shallowness of the Broncos’ all-time tight end corps, but it would be quite difficult to build a top-five list without Tony Scheffler, who started a grand total of 28 games for the Denver Broncos.
Coming in with Jay Cutler, Scheffler quickly helped Denver develop one the most exciting young offenses in the league, and he looked good doing it. If it wasn’t for Hurricane McDaniels, there’s a chance Scheffler might still be in the orange and blue; he most definitely would have remained in Denver longer than he did.
He, though, is a clear step below the next three guys on this list.
3. Julius Thomas
Years With Broncos: 2011-2014 (4 seasons)
Stats With Broncos: 159 receptions; 1,282 yards; 24 touchdowns
Career Accolades: 2-time Pro Bowler
By the time Julius Thomas parted ways with the Denver Broncos, a good portion of Broncos Country had soured on the talented tight end, but there’s no questioning his production on the field.
When healthy — which wasn’t as often as we’d like — he was right up there with Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham as the best tight end in the NFL.
Thomas blew past the numbers of Scheffler and Graham, and he did so in half the time, accruing all of his receiving numbers (aside from a 5-yard reception in his rookie year) in his final two seasons in Denver.
For Thomas, as he let the Jets know, it was “so F’n easy!”
2. Riley Odoms
Years With Broncos: 1972-1983 (12 seasons)
Stats With Broncos: 396 receptions; 5,755 yards; 41 touchdowns
Career Accolades: 4-time Pro Bowler; 2-time First-Team All-Pro
If you want to talk about players who are more deserving of being inducted in the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame than John Lynch, your conversation needs to start with Riley Odoms, who helped redefine the tight end position into what it is today.
A 4-time Pro Bowler and 2-time First-Team All-Pro, Odoms was one of the greatest receiving tight ends of his time, if not the greatest. He had five seasons with over 40 receptions and and four with over six touchdowns.
In today’s day and age, that may sound relatively ho-hum, but in the late 70s, that was elite-level production.
Throw in the fact that he played 12 seasons in the orange and blue, and there is only one reason he’s not sitting at the top of this list: Shannon Sharpe
1. Shannon Sharpe
Years With Broncos: 1990-1999, 2002-2003 (12 seasons)
Stats With Broncos: 675 receptions; 8,439 yards; 55 touchdowns
Career Accolades: Hall of Famer; 3-time Super Bowl Champion (1 with Ravens); 8-time Pro Bowler; 4-time First-Team All-Pro
If you made a list of top five tight ends in NFL history, Shannon Sharpe would undoubtedly be on that list, and you could make the argument that he should be No. 1. When talking about Broncos specifically, it’s an easy choice.
Sharpe was legendary. He was franchise defining. And he’s one of the greatest Broncos in franchise history.
It’ll take another Hall of Fame career for any tight end to break his Denver Broncos franchise records.