Before the Broncos signed Darian Stewart in March 2015, they had a splendid secondary, featuring Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward as the other base-package first-teamers.
After they added Stewart, they became legendary. He was the final piece, the perfect fit.
Stewart, who officially retired this week, was the final piece of the No-Fly Zone.
It was a defensive-backfield version of The Beatles, filled with bold personalities, electric working chemistry and brilliant talent that bordered on the mercurial — and sometimes crossed the border.
Like those Liverpudlians of the 1960s, the No-Fly Zone streaked across the sky and then was gone. At the time those comets soared through the firmament, it seemed as if these groups of greatness would be together.
Instead, time and attrition took their toll.
Denver’s Fab Four played just 25 games together — 11 in each of the 2015 and 2016 regular seasons, and three in the postseason run to Super Bowl 50. The Broncos won 19 of them, allowing just 17.3 points per game. When they didn’t have the band together in those two seasons, they were a .500 team: 5-5, giving up 20.5 points per game.
That’s the difference between a group being great … or just ordinary.
You had Talib, the group’s John Lennon. The front man. The signature presence. The one who could make the outrageous comment. Not that anyone in the No-Fly Zone would say that the secondary was “bigger than Jesus,” as Lennon did, but with on- and off-field incidents, he was the dazzling talent who straddled the line between genius and mayhem.
Then there was Harris, the quartet’s Paul McCartney. He could take the lead, as well. He also had a bit more polish than Talib; while Harris is bold and confident, he usually knew when to temper his sentiments.
Ward was Ringo Starr. The beating heart. The one who kept the time. Yes, somebody has to be Ringo. His occasions to sing lead were rare with the larger-than-life presences at cornerback. But without him, the entire group would have lost its rhythm.
And then there’s D-Stew.
The soul of the quartet. The still waters that ran deep. Just as George Harrison was the Quiet Beatle, so too was D-Stew the most reserved member of the group. But when he put his signature on something, he made it count. His big hits and high-leverage plays — like his game-sealing interception in his first game as a Bronco in 2015 — were as memorable in Broncos lore as “Here Comes the Sun” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in the Beatles’ discography.
And it is that first game, a Week 1 win over Baltimore, Stewart’s former team, that lingers in the memory.
Ward was out, serving a one-game league suspension after an incident at a nightclub a year earlier. David Bruton Jr. replaced Ward in the lineup.
But the spotlight was brightest on Stewart, a free-agent signing brought in to replace Rahim Moore. Moore was more expensive; his cap figure in Houston that year was $3 million. The Broncos had a $1.75 million bargain in Stewart.
But Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, in his first season on the job after serving as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator one year earlier, knew the team had unearthed a gem. Stewart’s play had improved every year he’d been in the league to that point. Further, Kubiak noticed Stewart’s diligence and study. When the defensive drills were complete during Ravens practice, Stewart would wander over to the offensive fields to watch and get a better grasp on the types of concepts he might see from an opposing offense on game days.
Kubiak noticed. When the first wave of 2015 free agency passed with Stewart unsigned, he helped ensure a reunion in Denver.
“Once they got rid of that previous safety, I knew what I was stepping into, and I knew what I was able to deliver. Coach Kubiak knew,” Stewart said. “He trusted me. He knew what I was capable of.”
After that game-clinching end-zone interception, Stewart flourished. Ward lined up to him a week later. The group made magical music, with the quiet Stewart becoming the perfect fit.
Stewart’s attention to detail and diligence made him a perfect fit for the secondary, whose members often arrived early at Broncos headquarters for extra film study over breakfast.
Their talent was unquestioned. But their work ethic made them great.
Together, Talib, Harris, Ward and Stewart were extraordinary. They were never as brilliant apart as they were together. While Harris was a Pro Bowler in 2018 and Talib helped the Los Angeles Rams to an appearance in Super Bowl LIII, these were one-offs, not unlike Lennon going to No. 3 with “Instant Karma!” or McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die.” They mattered and were memorable, but it wasn’t the same without the structure of the band.
Twenty-five games of brilliance as a quartet.
Memories to last a lifetime.
There will never be another No-Fly Zone for the Broncos, and there will never be a more perfect blend of talent and personalities than Stewart and his mates brought.
A Fab Four, indeed.
