With Peyton Manning and John Lynch in the Hall of Fame, the Broncos continue receiving their just due

There was a time, not too long ago, when the Broncos were the most underrepresented franchise in the Pro Football Hall of Fame relative to their accomplishments.

Five years ago this weekend, the Broncos earned their third Lombardi Trophy in their eighth Super Bowl appearance … and yet they were shut out of that weekend’s Hall of Fame announcement.

At that moment, just five players were in the Hall of Fame who had played at least four seasons with the Broncos: John Elway, Gary Zimmerman, Shannon Sharpe, Floyd Little and Willie Brown — who was known more as an Oakland Raider, anyway.

Five classes have been added since then.

And on Saturday, Peyton Manning and John Lynch became the fourth and fifth players in those five years to join the Hall of Fame after careers that included at least four Broncos seasons.

They follow Terrell Davis (2017), Champ Bailey (2019) and Steve Atwater (2020). Further, with owner Pat Bowlen’s 2019 enshrinement, the Broncos have more than doubled their Canton complement since that day five years ago when Davis, Atwater and Lynch were all on the outside looking in.

Manning had the easiest possible path from finalist to Hall of Famer. The speech by presenter Mike Chappell, a long-time beat writer covering the Indianapolis Colts, took just 13 seconds.

Manning was already a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer even before he joined the Broncos in 2012. What he did from that point forward cemented his place among the top handful of quarterbacks to ever play the game, as he stacked perhaps the best individual season for any quarterback in league history, two AFC titles and a Super Bowl 50 win atop his already skyscraping resume.

Lynch had one of the most frustrating paths. It wasn’t until his eighth crack as a finalist before he got the call.

Like Manning, Lynch made his name with another club, playing 11 seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he joined the Broncos. But the twilight of his career remained bright; he became the first player in Broncos history to play at least four seasons with the Broncos and make the Pro Bowl every time. (Aqib Talib matched that feat a decade later, helping his case for future Broncos and league honors.)

Until Saturday, Lynch was the only defensive back in NFL history with at least nine Pro Bowl selections who wasn’t in the Hall of Fame. Now, that is out the window.

Even though Lynch is more renowned for his Buccaneers exploits than what he did with the Broncos, it’s doubtful that he would celebrate his induction today without his final act in Denver, four years that saw him collaborate with fellow Hall of Famer Champ Bailey and other Broncos standouts such as Darrent Williams, Domonique Foxworth and Nick Ferguson to create arguably the NFL’s best secondary of the mid-2000s.

There are still deserving Broncos who continue to wait.

Randy Gradishar should have been in the Hall of Fame decades ago; he is one of 10 linebackers with at least 20 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries and seven Pro Bowl appearances — and is the only one of that group not in the Hall of Fame.

Karl Mecklenburg, who played every position in the front seven, has a case like no other because of his versatility during his 12-season pro career. He is one of seven players all-time with at least 75 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, five interceptions and six Pro Bowl appearances.

And then there is the Broncos’ winningest coach, Mike Shanahan. The recent inductions of Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson and Saturday’s announcement that former Raiders and Seahawks coach Tom Flores will join the Hall of Fame open the door for Shanahan. Johnson and Flores are two-time Super Bowl winners; Cowher won just one. If that is a standard, Shanahan — along with other coaches like Tom Coughlin and George Seifert — should be right behind to get his gold jacket.

But at least the Broncos are getting their due from Canton. The door is open. Others should follow — with Gradishar in particular being a good place to continue the momentum of the last five classes.

The Broncos’ representation still isn’t where it should be. But it’s better than it was — and there should be more to come.