The Denver Broncos “No Fly Zone” is one of the most intimidating secondaries in recent NFL history, but the trio of Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby only begin to scratch the surface when we start talking about the franchise’s all-time best cornerbacks (Spoiler: Only one of the three made the list)
Between the Orange Crush, the 90s Super Bowl team and last year’s historic unit, the Broncos have had their fair share of great defenses, and it’s often started in the secondary.
With that said, here are the five best cornerbacks in Denver Broncos history:
(Note: The player had to spend the majority of their career in Denver at cornerback, not safety)
5. Ray Crockett
YEARS WITH BRONCOS: 1994-2000 (7 seasons)
STATS WITH BRONCOS: 17 interceptions; 2 touchdowns; 429 tackles; 10.5 sacks
CAREER ACCOLADES: 2-time Super Bowl champion
Ray Crockett spent half his career outside of Denver, but he was in the orange and blue when it mattered: in 1997 and 1998, when he helped lead the Broncos to two Super Bowls at cornerback.
Over the course of his seven-year career with the Broncos, Crockett started 104 career games and was a focal point of Denver’s championship defense.
Crockett never made a Pro Bowl or was named to an All-Pro team, but he was a three-time defensive player of the week, and his consistency was huge for the Denver Broncos during their championship runs.
4. Tyrone Braxton
YEARS WITH BRONCOS: 1987-93, 1995-99 (12 seasons)
STATS WITH BRONCOS: 34 interceptions; 4 touchdowns; 820 tackles; 3.5 sacks
CAREER ACCOLADES: 1-time Pro Bowler; 2-time Super Bowl champion
For the most part, Tyrone Braxton was a Denver Bronco through and through — we’ll forget that one year he spent in Miami in 1994.
From 1987 to 1999, the 12th round cornerback out of North Dakota St. started 132 games for the Denver Broncos and racked up 34 interceptions, tied with Champ Bailey for fourth most in franchise history.
The only slight issue with Braxton, though, and why I had a hard time putting him even this high on the list is that he started over half his games at safety, including both of the Broncos’ Super Bowl victories in 1997 and 1998. Only because he technically spent more seasons as a cornerback (he didn’t start his first two years) did he qualify as a cornerback.
Either way, he’s deserving of a spot on one of the Broncos’ defensive back lists.
3. Chris Harris
YEARS WITH BRONCOS: 2011-2015 (5 seasons)
STATS WITH BRONCOS: 12 interceptions; 3 touchdowns; 319 tackles; 3.5 sacks
CAREER ACCOLADES: 2-time Pro Bowler; 1-time Super Bowl champion
Chris Harris’ five seasons with the Broncos are less than anyone on this list, but there’s no question that he deserves to be here, and by the time he retires, he could be even higher.
Undrafted out of Kansas, Harris has transformed himself into one of the best, most-versatile cornerbacks in the NFL. And with the league’s transition to more three-wideout offenses, Harris’ ability to dominate in the slot has made him invaluable.
It’s taken a while for the rest of the league to catch on, but with two-straight 2nd-Team All-NFL designations, he’s clearly doing something right. If he keeps this up, those 2nd-Team votes will start turning into 1st-Team votes.
2. Louis Wright
YEARS WITH BRONCOS: 1975-1986 (12 seasons)
STATS WITH BRONCOS: 26 interceptions; 1 touchdowns; 2.0 sacks (tackles not yet counted)
CAREER ACCOLADES: 5-time Pro Bowler; 2-time First-Team All Pro
Add Louis Wright to the list of Broncos legends that should be in the Hall of Fame.
For 12 years, Wright patrolled the Broncos’ secondary, earning Pro-Bowl trips and All-Pro nods. With 166 games in a blue and orange uniform, he’s tied for 13th in franchise history and first amongst cornerbacks.
He helped lead the Broncos and their Orange Crush defense to the first Super Bowl in franchise history, Super Bowl XII, and would come to define what it meant to be a “shutdown corner.”
And as evidenced by his nickname, “Lou-dini,” many of the things he did on the field were simply unexplainable.
1. Champ Bailey
YEARS WITH BRONCOS: 2004-2013 (10 seasons)
STATS WITH BRONCOS: 34 interceptions; 3 touchdowns; 596 tackles; 2.0 sacks
CAREER ACCOLADES: 12-time Pro Bowler; 3-time First-Team All Pro
Was there any question? If you took the Broncos out of the equation and just started listing the greatest cornerbacks in NFL history, there’s a good chance Champ Bailey may still be in this No. 1 spot.
He was a generational talent. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. And he’s the greatest defender in Denver Broncos history.
In a decade of play for the Denver Broncos, Champ racked up 34 interceptions, fourth most in franchise history, and he would have had even more if quarterbacks dared to so much as look in his direction.
There have been a lot of great cornerbacks through the years that have had the ability to defend receivers, but Champ Bailey eliminated them; quarterbacks would go entire games without targeting Bailey’s side of the field once.
And through it all, he was as classy and humble as they came. There was no “Bailey Island” because Bailey never said there was one. He was a quite leader, and he deserves every bit of recognition he receives.