The Denver Broncos' trade of Von Miller is the end of two eras ... but here's why it could be the start of a new one

Two eras of Broncos history ended Monday.

The first, and most obvious, is the Von Miller era. The Broncos’ all-time sack leader, one of three players in franchise history to earn a Super Bowl MVP trophy,

In 2011, Miller became the highest draft pick in the Broncos’ common-draft history, which began in 1967 when the AFL and NFL merged draft operations. Then, he spent the next decade not only living up to that status, but exceeding it.

He leaves with a Canton-worthy resume: 110.5 sacks, eight Pro Bowl selections, three first-team All-Pro nods, four more second-team All-Pro honors — and of course, the Super Bowl 50 MVP trophy. His strip-sack of Cam Newton not even nine minutes into the Super Bowl resulted in a Malik Jackson touchdown on a fumble recovery, put the Broncos up 10-0 and set the tone for the 24-10 win.

Newton was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in the 2015 season, winning that award not even 24 hours before Super Bowl 50. But in that game, Miller was the defining player: the game’s best on its brightest stage.

Nothing and no one can take that away.

But the second era — and the one most profound — is the post-Super Bowl years spent trying to win by recreating an all-time defense and partnering it with an efficient, low-mistake-but-low-ceiling offense.

Since the spring of 2016, the Broncos have tried and tried again to replicate the 2015 title formula.

Of course, the 2015 Broncos had Peyton Manning; although he was enduring the worst statistical season of his career, he proved in Week 17 and the postseason of that year that he was still capable of winning games with his mind and his leadership.

But the years that followed were filled with young quarterbacks who didn’t blossom and veterans who were asked to provide just enough viable and efficient play to complement an effective defense. There is no need to recite their names here; if you’ve followed Broncos football in recent years, you know them all.

The problem is this: Historically great defenses are harder to sustain than terrific offenses — at least on a championship level — unless there is a Hall-of-Fame-level quarterback on the other side.

Denver found out what Baltimore learned in the early 2000s as they cycled through Elvis Grbac, Chris Redman and Kyle Boller … what Tampa Bay of that same era learned as it tried to hang on with Brad Johnson and then Chris Simms … and what the 1980s Chicago Bears and their all-time defense experienced as Jim McMahon broke down with injuries and led to a carousel that included Mike Tomczak, Jim Harbaugh and, briefly, Doug Flutie.

That lesson was simple: Only with a great, Hall-of-Fame-level quarterback can a great defense be a linchpin of multiple titles. The Steel Curtain had Terry Bradshaw. Dallas’ Doomsday Defense had Roger Staubach. Miami’s No-Name Defense of back-to-back titles had Bob Griese. Even the Minnesota Vikings, who fell short of winning it all but won four NFL or NFC titles with the Purple People Eaters, had Fran Tarkenton for most of their run. All four of those passers own gold jackets.

Great defenses can win a Super Bowl. Dynasties require a great QB to go along with that defense.

This is why the Broncos never came close to replicating their 2015 formula, even with Miller a massive part of the equation. In the four seasons they played with him before his 2020 injury, the Broncos finished fourth, third, 22nd and 12th in total defense and fourth, 23rd, 13th and 10th in scoring defense.

Average rankings of 10.25 in total defense and 12.5 in scoring defense aren’t bad. But given the Broncos’ massive investment in their defensive stars since Super Bowl 50 — including Miller signing what was, at the time, the richest contract for a defensive player in NFL history — the Broncos didn’t come close to recouping their investment.

Now, the Broncos have five of the first 96 picks in next year’s NFL draft. And one way or another, the best investment they can make to move the needle and change their outcome is to look at quarterback.

They have ammunition to trade up if they want to draft one of the first-round quarterbacks in a class of prospects with intriguing characteristics but myriad question marks — or they can use that capital in a trade for a veteran quarterback.

This could bring Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson into the chat if neither are pleased with their current scenarios. Rodgers’ contract is structured to cripple Green Bay’s cap situation next year; Wilson could look for a change of scenery.

Both will be costly, but extra second- and third-round picks could bring the Broncos closer to being able to cobble together a massive package while not completely destroying two or three years of Day 1 and Day 2 picks that could be required in such a deal.

This year, the Broncos had the highest-paid defense in football. But Miller is gone and contracts will expire for Kareem Jackson, Kyle Fuller, Bryce Callahan, Alexander Johnson, Josey Jewell and Kenny Young.

The point of emphasis could be about to change, and that will herald a new era growing out of the end of the two eras that Miller symbolized.

It’s the circle of NFL life — and the Broncos would hope that such a new era would bring more vibrancy than dormant frustration that has defined the Broncos in the post-Super Bowl era, even with Miller still wreaking havoc.

Miller wrecked many a quarterback’s day. But it’s still all about the quarterback. If the Broncos use their trade haul as part of upgrading the most important position in sports, Monday’s trade will be the seeds of a new era.