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The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are members of the American Football Conference West Division in the National Football League (NFL). The franchise was formed on August 14, 1959, to compete in the American Football League (AFL). The first AFL Draft was held three months later.[2] The last AFL draft the Broncos participated in was the 1966 draft, due to them joining the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger on June 8, 1966.[3]
The Broncos first participated in the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting, more commonly known as the NFL draft,[4] in 1967. In the NFL Draft, each NFL franchise annually seeks to add new players to its roster. Teams are ranked in reverse order based on the previous season's record; the worst record picks first, the second-worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion always picks 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser always picks 31st. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.[5]
The Broncos selected Roger LeClerc, a placekicker from Trinity College, in the 1960 AFL Draft.[6] In their first NFL Draft, the Broncos selected Floyd Little, a running back from Syracuse University. The Broncos have selected players from the University of Nebraska, University of Florida, and University of Tennessee three times each, the most from any university in the first-round. The team's most recent selections were Tim Tebow, a quarterback from Florida University and Demaryius Thomas, wide receiver from Georgia Tech. Three selections, Floyd Little, Merlin Olsen and Bob Brown, were enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and 2004, respectively.[7] In 1991, Mike Croel became the first Bronco to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, receiving 68 out of 82 votes.[8]
The Broncos' latest first-round pick is University of Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who they picked 9th overall in the 2021 NFL draft.
Key
| ^ | Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. |
|---|---|
| — | The Broncos did not draft a player in the first round that year. |
| Year | Each year links to an article about that particular AFL, Common, or NFL draft. |
| Pick | Indicates the number of the pick within the first round |
| Position | Indicates the position of the player in the NFL |
| College | The player's college football team |