John Elway doesn’t get enough credit.
There, I said it. And it’s true. John Elway, who is viewed by many as one of the five greatest quarterbacks of all time and is universally adored by the entire state of Colorado, does not get enough credit.
This guy already has one gold jacket, but he may end up with another if he keeps this up. He’s the best general manager in the league, and honestly, I don’t even think it’s close.
Wait … I can already hear your responses:
“The guy drafted Cody Latimer instead of Jarvis Landry!”
“You mean the guy who let Julius Thomas just walk out the building?”
“It’s been two seasons and Monte Ball is already unemployed.”
“Our quarterback is nearly 40 years old, and Elway has let three of our best offensive linemen walk out of town.”
And here’s what I have to say about all that: Who cares?
It sounds wrong, but if all you do is focus on Elway’s mistakes, you’re missing the forest through the trees. We’re talking about a general manager who has constructed a team that has, in the span of three years, quite possibly sported the single greatest offense in NFL history and the single greatest defense in NFL history — the ’85 Bears may think I’m jumping the gun on the defense part, but after what the Broncos just did to Aaron Rodgers, I think it’s fair to at least talk about.
The Denver Broncos may be Peyton Manning‘s team, but they’re John Elway’s franchise. His fingerprints are everywhere. Elway wields more power than any other general manager in the league — well, maybe aside from Jerry Jones — and he does so effortlessly.
Every offseason, it seems like he implements a fundamental change to the organization that shifts the team in a new direction, and every year it works. After watching Tebowmania, he went out and got a real quarterback in Peyton Manning. After losing to the Ravens in the playoffs, he supercharged the offense by adding Wes Welker. After looking soft against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, he upgraded the defense with Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward and DeMarcus Ware. After falling flat against the Colts, he re-engerized the franchise by brining in coaches who won’t ever lay down in a fight.
The Broncos may still be looking for their third championship, but there’s no denying that Elway has seemingly been able to construct this roster at a whim, adding the perfect pieces exactly when he’s needed them.
Now, has everything worked out? Obviously not. But that hasn’t stopped Elway. Despite too many early-round draft busts and some questionable free agency decisions, there’s no doubt that Elway does two things better than just about anybody else in the NFL: Bring in veteran free agents and draft late-round gems.
Of the Broncos 22 starters, only five of them were drafted by John Elway in one of the top three rounds (Demaryius Thomas was drafted by Josh McDaniels), and aside from Von Miller, who was the No. 2 overall pick, Michael Schofield, Derek Wolfe, Ronnie Hillman and Sylvester Williams have all been considered busts at one point or another in their young careers.
Point being, this team hasn’t lucked itself into elite talent. Instead, Elway and the Broncos have built themselves up the hard way, with six starters coming late in the draft and 11 starters coming via free agency.
Just think, where would the Broncos be without Chris Harris, Danny Trevathan or Malik Jackson, all of which were snagged late in, if not after, the draft? Or how stout would this defense be if it didn’t have Ward, Talib, Ware or Brandon Marshall on it, all of whom were brought to Denver through free agency?
Accruing talent like that may be easy in Madden or your Fantasy Football league, but the NFL is not an ask-and-you-shall-receive league. Trust me, plenty of GMs around the league have grand aspirations of brining in Pro Bowl talent each offseason, but unlike Elway, they don’t usually get it.
And even when they do get it, it rarely works out. For most teams, using free agency to build your roster is considered the quick fix, where you’re hoping a veteran talent will come in and make an immediate impact on your franchise, and oftentimes it falls flat. If I had a nickel for every big-name free agent who got a boatload of money and failed to live up to expectations, I’d be able to sign a big-name free agent!
But with Elway, what free agents haven’t worked out? I’m pretty sure Peyton Manning has been well worth the money. Louis Vasquez earned himself an All-Pro nod. Emmanuel Sanders has been better than anybody thought. And aside from Chris Harris, the secondary which just held Aaron Rodgers to under 80 yards passing was built entirely through free agency.
Oh yeah, and he just traded for Vernon Davis because of course he did!
The Broncos are now 7-0, their team seems to be clicking on all cylinders, they’re on pace to win their fifth straight division title and the Super Bowl is once again a very real possibility. Let’s make sure that while we’re giving credit to everybody on the field, we give all due respect to John Elway, the man who has orchestrated the two best runs in this franchise’s history.