Denver Broncos
Battle card · first-round draft history, season-by-season record, and how Broncos top picks have shaped the franchise.
R1 Picks
48
Hall of Famers
2
4.2% hit rate
Avg pick slot
17.8
Highest pick
#2
Von Miller · 2011
All-time record
493–378–6
0.566 win %
Playoff seasons
24
of 56
The Story
- Denver Broncos have made 48 first-round selections and produced 2 Hall of Famers (4.2% hit rate).
- Their highest selection on record is #2 overall in 2011, when they took Von Miller.
- Across 56 seasons in this dataset they have a 493-378-6 record (0.566) and reached the playoffs 24 times.
- In seasons after holding at least one top-10 pick, Denver Broncos added an average of 3.4 wins versus the prior year (7 such seasons in the data).
- Their most-drafted position group is DL, taken 9 times in Round 1.
- Florida is their go-to talent pipeline, supplying 3 first-round picks.
- Their best season was 1998: 14-2-0 (+192 point differential).
- Their worst was 1982: 2-7-0 (-78 point differential).
Wins per Season
R1 Pick Slot by Year
Position Breakdown
Point Differential by Season
Impact of Top-10 Picks (Next-Season Wins Delta)
| Draft Year | Pick | Player | Prior-Year Wins | New-Year Wins | Delta | HoF? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | #5 | Riley Odoms | 4 | 5 | +1 | |
| 1973 | #9 | Otis Armstrong | 5 | 7 | +2 | |
| 1983 | #4 | Chris Hinton | 2 | 9 | +7 | |
| 1991 | #4 | Mike Croel | 5 | 12 | +7 | |
| 2011 | #2 | Von Miller | 4 | 8 | +4 | |
| 2018 | #5 | Bradley Chubb | 5 | 6 | +1 | |
| 2021 | #9 | Patrick Surtain II | 5 | 7 | +2 |
Hall of Fame Selections
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | #14 | Randy Gradishar | LB | Ohio St. |
| 1989 | #20 | Steve Atwater | DB | Arkansas |
Every First-Round Pick
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College | HoF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | #11 | Bobby Anderson | RB | Colorado | |
| 1971 | #12 | Marv Montgomery | T | USC | |
| 1972 | #5 | Riley Odoms | TE | Houston | |
| 1973 | #9 | Otis Armstrong | RB | Purdue | |
| 1974 | #14 | Randy Gradishar | LB | Ohio St. | HoF |
| 1975 | #17 | Louis Wright | DB | San Jose St. | |
| 1976 | #15 | Tom Glassic | G | Virginia | |
| 1977 | #18 | Steve Schindler | G | Boston Col. | |
| 1978 | #27 | Don Latimer | NT | Miami (FL) | |
| 1979 | #22 | Kelvin Clark | T | Nebraska | |
| 1981 | #15 | Dennis Smith | DB | USC | |
| 1982 | #21 | Gerald Willhite | RB | San Jose St. | |
| 1983 | #4 | Chris Hinton | T | Northwestern | |
| 1985 | #26 | Steve Sewell | RB | Oklahoma | |
| 1987 | #27 | Ricky Nattiel | WR | Florida | |
| 1988 | #26 | Ted Gregory | NT | Syracuse | |
| 1989 | #20 | Steve Atwater | DB | Arkansas | HoF |
| 1991 | #4 | Mike Croel | LB | Nebraska | |
| 1992 | #25 | Tommy Maddox | QB | UCLA | |
| 1993 | #11 | Dan Williams | DE | Toledo | |
| 1996 | #15 | John Mobley | LB | Kutztown (PA) | |
| 1997 | #28 | Trevor Pryce | DT | Clemson | |
| 1998 | #30 | Marcus Nash | WR | Tennessee | |
| 1999 | #31 | Al Wilson | LB | Tennessee | |
| 2000 | #15 | Deltha O'Neal | DB | California | |
| 2001 | #24 | Willie Middlebrooks | DB | Minnesota | |
| 2002 | #19 | Ashley Lelie | WR | Hawaii | |
| 2003 | #20 | George Foster | T | Georgia | |
| 2004 | #17 | D.J. Williams | LB | Miami (FL) | |
| 2006 | #11 | Jay Cutler | QB | Vanderbilt | |
| 2007 | #17 | Jarvis Moss | DE | Florida | |
| 2008 | #12 | Ryan Clady | T | Boise St. | |
| 2009 | #12 | Knowshon Moreno | RB | Georgia | |
| 2009 | #18 | Robert Ayers | DE | Tennessee | |
| 2010 | #22 | Demaryius Thomas | WR | Georgia Tech | |
| 2010 | #25 | Tim Tebow | QB | Florida | |
| 2011 | #2 | Von Miller | LB | Texas A&M | |
| 2013 | #28 | Sylvester Williams | DT | North Carolina | |
| 2014 | #31 | Bradley Roby | DB | Ohio St. | |
| 2015 | #23 | Shane Ray | DE | Missouri | |
| 2016 | #26 | Paxton Lynch | QB | Memphis | |
| 2017 | #20 | Garett Bolles | T | Utah | |
| 2018 | #5 | Bradley Chubb | DE | North Carolina St. | |
| 2019 | #20 | Noah Fant | TE | Iowa | |
| 2020 | #15 | Jerry Jeudy | WR | Alabama | |
| 2021 | #9 | Patrick Surtain II | DB | Alabama | |
| 2024 | #12 | Bo Nix | QB | Oregon | |
| 2025 | #20 | Jahdae Barron | CB | Texas |