The Denver Broncos are holding a voluntary minicamp this week, but we're diving into franchise history by continuing to spotlight the three best players to wear each jersey number. Today, we arrive at the mythical No. 7.
The rankings are heavily weighted by Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value metric, but when it comes to the No. 7, there frankly haven't been too many Broncos to sport it, for a couple of reasons. One, the number has been retired for decades, and two, the guy for whom the jersey hangs in the rafters at Empower Field at Mile High rocked it for 16 years.
However, there was enough water under the No. 7 bridge to spotlight three notorious Broncos in franchise history. Let's dive into the man who made it famous and inspired countless kids to wear the No. 7 as quarterbacks.
John Elway | QB | 1983-1998
Elway was infamously drafted No. 1 overall in 1983 by the then-Baltimore Colts, but refused to play there. He was packaged in a trade to Denver, where he'd play out his illustrious career.
As a player, Elway would lead the Broncos to five Super Bowl berths, three of which were in a losing effort in the '80s. The Broncos wouldn't just lose those Super Bowls, they'd get utterly demolished by their NFC opponent.
Then Mike Shanahan arrived in 1995 and the tide began to turn. The Broncos ran the playoff gauntlet as a Wildcard team in 1997, earning their fifth all-time Super Bowl berth to face the defending World Champion Green Bay Packers, who were heavily favored.
The Broncos found a way to win Super Bowl XXXII, thanks to Terrell Davis' heroic rushing and Elway making some savvy plays in critical moments, including 'The Helicopter.' At the post-game podium, late Broncos owner Pat Bowlen would hoist the Lombardi Trophy and proclaim, "This one's for John!"
Iconic.
Elway had toiled for 15 years, dealing with the 'can't win the big one' criticism. And he finally got that monkey off his back.
The 1998 Broncos would successfully defend their World Championship, vanquishing Dan Reeves' Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway was named Super Bowl MVP before retiring and riding off into the sunset as a back-to-back World Champ, which had never happened before.
All in, Elway played 16 seasons in Denver, going 148-82-1 as a regular-season starter. Elway played in 22 postseason games, posting a 14-8 record. He was named league MVP in 1987, earning nine Pro Bowl nods and three second-team All-Pro selections.
Elway would be named to the NFL All-Decades Team of the 1990s, the NFL Man of the Year (1992), and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He retired with the second-most passing yards in NFL history behind only Dan Marino, and third all-time in touchdown passes behind Marino and Fran Tarkenton.
Elway was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, egregiously becoming the first Bronco to enter the hallowed halls of Canton, OH. Since then, many more Broncos have been enshrined, including multiple Elway teammates, like Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman, Terrell Davis, and Steven Atwater.
Craig Morton | QB | 1977-1982
The first guy to quarterback the Broncos in a Super Bowl, Morton would arrive in Denver the year prior in 1977. The former Dallas Cowboys first-round pick was a 13th-year pro when he first joined the Broncos, and the 34-year-old provided the veteran competence and leadership the team needed.
Led by the vaunted Orange Crush defense, the Broncos made it to Super Bowl XII the following season. Morton would face his former team, with whom he won a Super Bowl as a backup behind Roger Staubach, and the Cowboys emerged victorious.
Morton holds some unique NFL distinctions. He was the first quarterback to start a Super Bowl with two different teams in NFL history (Dallas SBV/Denver SBXII).
Morton's best statistical season as a Bronco came in 1981, when he passed for 3,195 yards and 21 touchdowns. As a Bronco, he went 50-28. When he retired, the No. 7 was immediately reprised by Elway the following season.
Morton still ranks third in Broncos history with 11,895 passing yards and third in passing touchdowns, with 74. He checks in behind only Elway and Peyton Manning in both categories.
Mickey Slaughter | QB | 1963-66
A seventh-round pick by the Broncos in 1963, Slaughter would start 19 games as a pro. He posted a 2-15-2 record, alas.
However, Slaughter's rookie season would remain in the Broncos' record books, although not always for the right reasons. Some of his records stood until Bo Nix arrived in 2024, resetting the rookie yardage record that Slaughter held for decades.
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Slaughter's entire four-year NFL career was spent with the Broncos.
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