The 10 Best Broncos Quarterbacks of All Time, Ranked

The Denver Broncos are hoping to get the quarterback position right for the first time in more than a decade with first-round rookie pick Bo Nix in 2024, but the team has also gone through periods of quarterback greatness in its history.

Created in 1960, the Broncos are one of eight teams in league history to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles (1997-1998) and are tied with four other teams for the second-most Super Bowl appearances. They won the first-ever AFL game in 1960 and then became the first AFL team to beat an NFL team in 1967 before the merger in 1970.

While it has not been all sunshine and rainbows for the Broncos at the quarterback position over the years, they have won multiple championships since the merger behind excellent quarterback play and have two passers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Here’s a look at the 10 best quarterbacks in the history of the Broncos franchise:

*Note: All titles, awards and stats listed below are from each player’s tenure with the Broncos only. All stats are from Pro Football Reference unless otherwise stated.

10. Brian Griese

Brian Griese did not grow to become the successor to John Elway as the Broncos intended, but he still racked up the fourth-most career passing yards (11,763) in franchise history over his five seasons in Denver. He looked like a quarterback on the rise in his second season as a full-time starter in 2000, throwing for 2,688 yards and 19 touchdowns with just 4 interceptions — good for a career-low 1.2 interception percentage. He also won seven of his 10 starts that season, though a separated shoulder cost him several games.

Griese earned the first — and only — Pro Bowl selection of his NFL career following the 2000 season, but injuries and interception issues derailed him over his next two seasons and the Broncos replaced him with Jake Plummer in 2003. Still, Griese finished his career in Denver with the team’s third-most completions (1,044) and attempts (1,678) and, to this day, is still tied with Plummer for the fourth-most career touchdown passes (71).

9. Marlin Briscoe

Marlin Briscoe became the first Black starting quarterback in the AFL (pre-NFL merger) as a Broncos rookie in 1968, kicking off his trailblazing career that helped shape the future of the sport. While he only made five starts for the Broncos that season, he threw for 1,589 yards and 14 touchdown passes — which still stands as a rookie record in 2024 — and added another 308 yards and 3 touchdowns with his rushing ability.

The defining performance for Briscoe came in his first career start against the Buffalo Bills on November 24, 1968. While it was a whirlwind of emotions for Broncos fans in part due to the pick-six that Briscoe threw in the third quarter, the rookie also threw 335 yards and 4 touchdown passes — another rookie record — in the 34-32 victory. While Briscoe left Denver after the season and converted into a Pro Bowl wide receiver, it would be tough to deny his legacy as one of the Broncos’ most exciting quarterbacks.

8. Jay Cutler

Jay Cutler — eternalized through the Smokin’ Jay internet memes during his career with the Chicago Bears — earns a place on the all-time great Broncos quarterbacks for a couple of key reasons. For one, he is the best quarterback the Broncos have drafted in the 21st century, excluding what Bo Nix might accomplish in the future. During the 2008 season, Cutler went 384-of-616 passing for 4,526 yards and 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, setting single-season franchise records for passing yards, completions and attempts that all stood until Peyton Manning broke them between 2012 and 2013. He also had the most 300-yard passing games in franchise history with eight.

The Broncos then managed to trade Cutler to the Bears for a significant haul. In their 2009 swap, they received two first-round picks (2009 and 2010), a 2009 third-round pick and quarterback Kyle Orton in exchange for Cutler and a 2009 fifth-round pick. While coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders wasted those picks, it was an undeniably good haul for a player who never reached his 2008 heights again.

7. Tim Tebow

The Broncos made Tim Tebow their starting quarterback after a 1-3 start to the 2011 season and watched him pump life into their franchise. In 11 starts, he threw for 1,650 yards and 11 touchdowns and ran for another 623 yards and 5 touchdowns, orchestrating five game-winning drives and delivering the Broncos their first division title since 2005. He then shined in his postseason debut in the wild-card round, throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns and adding another 50 yards and two scores with his legs to help the Broncos push past the Steelers and punch their ticket to the divisional round.

While the Broncos’ concerns about Tebow’s long-term upside persuaded them to move on from him before the 2012 season, he etched his place in history as one of their best rushing quarterbacks of all time. His 660 total rushing yards in his lone season as the starter is a franchise record for quarterbacks, while his 12 career rushing touchdowns are the second-most by a Broncos quarterback behind John Elway — who ran for 33 touchdowns in his career while playing 211 more games than Tebow.

6. Jake Plummer

Jake Plummer proved to be an excellent fit for Mike Shanahan’s offense when the Broncos signed him in 2003 free agency to replace Griese. While he had struggled throughout his time with the Arizona Cardinals, he bounced back majorly in his first season with the Broncos and posted a career-high 91.2 passer rating, which earned him the eighth-most votes for the 2003 Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. He then followed up with the first — and only — 4,000-yard season of his career, breaking John Elways’ single-season passing records for yardage (4,089) and touchdowns (27).

Plummer’s most successful season, however, came when he guided the Broncos to a 13-3 record and a first-round bye in the playoffs during the 2004 season. He completed a career-high 229 passes without throwing an interception and earned the first Pro Bowl distinction of his career. He also claimed his first playoff win with the Broncos, topping the New England Patriots in the AFC divisional round before losing in the title game. To this day, Plummer still ranks among the Top 5 Broncos quarterbacks in career passing yards (11,631) and career touchdown passes (71).

5. Charley Johnson

Before the Super Bowl endeavors of John Elway and Peyton Manning, Charley Johnson led the Broncos to their first winning season in 1973 when he guided them to a 7-5-2 finish. He finished the season third in passing yards (2,465) and fourth in touchdown passes (20) in the NFL, leading his teammates to vote him as their most valuable offensive player. One season later, Johnson set a franchise record with 8.1 yards per passing attempt.

While Johnson had several strong performances throughout his 20-18-3 run as a starter for the Broncos, none hit the mark quite like his fifth game of the 1973 season. He threw 4 touchdown passes against his former Houston Oilers team and led the Broncos to a 48-20 victory, which played a major role in turning their season around after a 1-3 start. By the end of his four-season stint in Denver, Johnson had passed for 7,238 yards and 52 touchdowns, which today rank ninth and seventh in franchise history, respectively.

4. Craig Morton

Johnson might have led the Broncos to their first winning season, but Craig Morton helped the franchise define a new standard for success when the team traded for him in 1977. At the time, Morton was 34 years old and coming off a miserable three-year stint with the New York Giants, during which he posted an 8-25 record and threw more picks (49) than touchdowns (29), but he quickly proved he had more gas left in the tank when he guided the Broncos to a 12-2 record and their first Super Bowl berth, becoming the first player to start in a Super Bowl for two different teams. For his efforts, he finished as the NFL Comeback Player of the Year and the AFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1977.

While Morton never took the Broncos back to the Super Bowl, he helped them win double-digit games in each of his next two seasons as their starting quarterback and finished with a 41-23 record as a starter before retiring after the 1972 season with the arrival of rookie John Elway on the horizon. At the time of his retirement, he ranked first in career passing yards (11,895) and touchdown passes (74) — numbers that today, in 2024, both rank third in franchise history.

3. Frank Tripucka

More than six decades later, one of the greatest quarterbacks in franchise history is the very first one the Broncos trotted out in their inaugural season in 1960. Frank Tripucka joined the Broncos after spending his first decade in the pre-merger NFL and threw the first touchdown pass in the history of the AFL, bringing immediate relevance to the newly-created Broncos franchise. He also became the first NFL or AFL quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season, doing so in his first year with the Broncos in 1960 while also hitting career-high marks in completions (248) and passing attempts (478).

While Tripucka’s legacy struggled as a result of the Broncos’ early-days issues — an inability to win consistently — he nearly led the team to its first .500 season in 1962 before they stumbled to 6-7 during the final stretch. During that year, Tripucka earned the lone Pro Bowl honors of his career, completing 240 of 440 passes for 2,917 yards with 17 touchdowns and 25 picks along with a career-high three game-winning drives. It also remains remarkable that before becoming the Broncos’ first quarterback, the team had initially planned on him serving as an assistant coach. Quite the pivot indeed.

2. Peyton Manning

No free agent acquisition ever moved the needle for the Broncos as much as their blockbuster signing of Peyton Manning during the 2012 offseason. Coming off a season-ending neck injury at the time of his signing, Manning stepped into the starter shoes in Denver and delivered an awe-inspiring final act to his legendary NFL career. In his first season at the helm in 2012, he set new single-season franchise records for completions (400), passing yards (4,659) and touchdown passes (39). He then proceeded to shatter those records in 2013 when he threw for a career-high 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns, the highest marks an NFL quarterback has ever achieved in both statistical categories. He also won his fifth career MVP, which was only the second ever awarded to a Bronco.

While Manning’s statistical achievements alone would likely land him at the No. 2 spot on this list, he solidified himself as one of the greatest Broncos quarterbacks when he helped the franchise win its third Super Bowl title following the 2015 season. He did not have the strongest game for the Broncos, going 13-of-23 passing for 141 yards and no touchdowns, but he still paced them to a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers, gifting the team the ultimate reward before retiring exactly one month later on March 7, 2016.

Manning still has the three best statistical seasons ever by a Broncos quarterback both in passing yards and touchdown passes for his unparalleled run from 2012 to 2014.

1. John Elway

Who else but John Elway? The longtime Broncos quarterback and eventual general manager (2011-2020) holds the top spot for winning back-to-back Super Bowl titles with the Broncos in 1997 and 1998, but his talent as a passer would have still earned him a place on the list even if he had never won a championship. Unlike Manning, Elway played all 16 seasons with the Broncos and, as a result, holds all of the career passing records for the franchise, including passing yards (51,475), passing touchdowns (300), completions (4,123) and attempts (7,250). He was also the first quarterback to start in five Super Bowls and remains one of just nine quarterbacks in NFL history to record at least 40 game-winning drives — adding six more game-winning drives in his postseason career.

While Elway’s championship success did benefit from the presence of prolific running back Terrell Davis — who rushed for more than 3,750 yards and 36 touchdowns across the Broncos’ two Super Bowl-winning seasons — the team would have likely not won its consecutive titles without Elway’s arm guiding the way. He displayed good mobility and athleticism both in and out of the pocket early on in his career, especially during his 1991 MVP season when he rushed for a career-high 304 yards and 3 scores. He also became the bona fide leader of the Broncos’ locker room, a status that still earns him clout in Denver in 2024 after roughly a decade working in the team’s front office.

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