Free agency is often viewed as a Bandaid, a short-term fix. Most well-run franchises choose, instead, to build through the draft, where they can craft their roster from the ground up on cheap, flexible contracts. It’s the poorly managed, desperate organizations who live by the go-big-or-go-home strategy, which leads them to signing big-name free agents often coming off their best years.
Even when you look at the free agents that perennial contenders like the Patriots, Seahawks, Packers and Steelers do sign, they’re often buy-low, high-ceiling guys who end up over performing their contracts; rarely do you see Bill Belichick or Ted Thompson chase a top-ranked assassin in the first few days of free agency.
John Elway, though … well, he does things a little differently.
In fact, Elway has continuously built and rebuilt this Denver Broncos franchise through free agency, and he’s been immensely successful. In the span of five years, Elway’s Broncos have been to two Super Bowls, they’ve run out the best offense in NFL history and they’ve followed that up with one of the greatest defensive runs the game has ever seen.
A vast majority of the credit goes to the free agents Elway has brought into Denver. In fact, 11 of the Broncos’ 22 starters in the Super Bowl were free agents signed by John Elway over the last five years.
Now, why is Elway so good at luring free agents? And why does he seem so adept at finding the right guys at the right prices? Well, that’s a discussion for another day. For now, let’s just take a look back at Elway’s five best signings of the last five years:
5. T.J. Ward
Age At Signing: 27 Contract: 4 years / $22.5 million ($14 million guaranteed)
Best Season Before Denver: 112 total tackles; 1.5 sacks; 2 interceptions; 7 passes defended; 2 return touchdowns (2013, Browns)
Best Season In Denver: 76 total tackles; 2 sacks; 2 interceptions; 8 passes defended (2014)
What he’s done: When John Elway made the decision to rebuild his defense, one of the first guys on his to-do list was T.J. Ward, a hard-hitting safety coming off a Pro Bowl season with the Cleveland Browns. Ward had made a name for himself by blowing out Rob Gronkowski‘s knee, but he was much more than a one-hit-wonder; he was a beast, and Denver has come to see that over the last two years.
And still, Elway was able to get Ward at just $5.625 million a year. At the time, that made Ward the 17th highest-paid safety in the NFL, and next season, he’ll clock in at 16.
For what Ward has given the Broncos over the last two years, both on the field and in the locker room, that’s a heck of a deal.
4. Aqib Talib
Age At Signing: 28 Contract: 6 years / $57 million ($25.5 million guaranteed)
Best Season Before Denver: 46 total tackles; 4 interceptions; 13 passes defended; 1 return touchdowns (2013, Patriots)
Best Season In Denver: 67 total tackles; 1 sack; 4 interceptions; 18 passes defended (2014)
What he’s done: Whether or not you like the personality and playing style of Aqib Talib, there’s no denying what he’s done for the Denver Broncos defense. Maybe he’s not the best cornerback in Denver — I’d give that designation to Chris Harris — but I can promise you that there wouldn’t be a “No Fly Zone” without Aqib Talib in the building.
And while it’s hard to measure, I don’t think we can underrate what Talib has done for the Broncos’ locker room. Yes, he crosses the line sometimes, but he also brings a fire to the Denver defense that few opponents can match.
At an average of $9.5 million, Talib will be the 12th highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, which is more than fair.
3. Emmanuel Sanders
Age At Signing: 27 Contract: 3 years / $15 million ($6 million guaranteed)
Best Season Before Denver: 67 receptions; 740 yards; 6 touchdowns (2013, Steelers)
Best Season In Denver: 101 receptions; 1,404 yards; 9 touchdowns (2014)
What he’s done: This one came down to Emmanuel Sanders and Wes Welker. In the end, I went with Sanders for two reasons: (1) He was cheaper and (2) he was simply better.
While Welker is the one that will likely be going into the Hall of Fame, and while Welker is the one that helped power the greatest offense in NFL history, the numbers don’t lie. Sanders’ two years in Denver have been much more effective than Welker’s:
Sanders: 177 receptions; 2,030 yards; 15 touchdowns
Welker: 122 receptions; 1,242 yards; 12 touchdowns
Not to mention, Sanders is an absolute blast to watch. And unlike Welker, whose game dropped off significantly in his second year, if Sanders had just had a competent quarterback situation, I have no doubt that he could have matched his ’14 numbers.
And at the price of $5 million a year, 26th highest amongst all wideouts, I’d say Denver is getting a steal.
2. DeMarcus Ware
Age At Signing: 31 Contract: 3 years / $30 million ($20 million guaranteed)
Best Season Before Denver: 84 total tackles; 20 sacks; 2 forced fumbles (2008, Cowboys)
Best Season In Denver: 45 total tackles; 10 sacks; 1 interceptions; 2 forced fumbles (2014)
What he’s done: Now we’re getting to the old guys. DeMarcus Ware clearly isn’t the player he was back in his Dallas days, but he’s still one of the best to ever do it, as evidenced by his playoff performance last season.
More than anything, though, Ware earned every penny he got for his ability to mentor Von Miller. Nobody can say for sure where Miller’s career would have gone had Ware never come to Denver, but I believe even he would admit that he never would have ended up where he is today.
And on the field, if all Ware ever did for the Broncos was dominate the 2015 AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl like he did, I think Broncos Country would take it.
1. Peyton Manning
Age At Signing: 35 Contract: 5 years / $96 million ($18 million guaranteed)
Best Season Before Denver: 67.6% completion; 4,557 yards; 49 touchdowns; 10 interceptions; 121.1 QB Rating (2004, Colts)
Best Season In Denver: 68.3% completion; 5,477 yards; 55 touchdowns; 10 interceptions; 115.1 QB Rating
What he’s done: Peyton Manning isn’t just the greatest free agent signing of the John Elway era; he’s the greatest free agent in NFL history.
In Indianapolis, Manning had already solidified himself as a top-10 quarterback in NFL history, if not higher than that, but you can make a legitimate argument that four of his five best seasons were as a Denver Bronco — and the fifth season in Denver resulted in a Super Bowl championship.
It’s not often that a single player can alter the course of a franchise, and the league, with one decision, but that’s exactly what Manning did. Two Super Bowls, four division titles, 45 wins; that’s one of the best four-year stretches in NFL history, and it was done by a guy in his late 30s.
Safe to say, Elway got it right.