Where does John Elway rank among GMs?

[Broncos6482]

In just 5 years of making the personnel decisions for the Broncos, Elway has done quite a remarkable job. The season before he got there, the Broncos had gone 4-12, had a horrible defense, an aging roster, and a quarterback trio of Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow, and Brady Quinn. Their record the previous 5 seasons was 36-44, and they hadn't won the division or made the playoffs for 6 seasons.

Here's what the Broncos have accomplished since

• 5 straight division titles
• No losing seasons
• 6 playoff wins
• 58-22 regular season record
• 2 Super Bowl appearances
• 1 Super Bowl win

Some of his best moves

• Drafting Von Miller, Julius Thomas, and Virgil Green in 2011
• Signing Chris Harris, Jr. as an undrafted free agent
• Drafting Derek Wolfe, Malik Jackson, and Danny Trevathan in 2012
• Signing Peyton Manning and Louis Vasquez in 2012
• Signing Wes Welker in 2013
• Drafting Sylvester Williams in 2013
• Signing Aqib Talib, Demarcus Ware, and TJ Ward in 2014
• Drafting Bradley Roby and Matt Paradis in 2014
• Letting Rahim Moore walk and signing Darian Stewart to replace him in 2015
• Parting ways with Fox and bringing in Kubiak and Phillips

He has made mistakes, mostly in the draft. He took Brock Osweiler in the second round of 2012 with Russell Wilson still available. His 2013 draft looks really bad; only Sylvester Williams and Kayvon Webster (a solid special team player) remain on the team, and the Montee Ball pick in the second round looks really bad now with Lacy still on the board), and in the 2014 draft loaded with wide receiver talent, he took Cody Latimer in the second round, who in two seasons has managed 8 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.

So how would you rank Elway the GM?

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I would probably say top 10 with a good argument to be top 5 as of right now. He'll have different challenges the next 5 years which will probably determine, more than anything, where he sits amongst GM's in general.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Elway the GM

 

[Clayton]

Getting Ware and drafting Von Miller were both huge. Wolfe and Trevathan were both steals in the draft. Peyton was giftwrapped...I think Peyton chooses Denver if Beyonce is the GM. Talib and Darian Stewart...mostly luck that those guys haven't backfired but they work somehow. Julius Thomas was a product of Peyton. Roby will end up being a steal.

A lot of Denver was Peyton, Demaryius Thomas, Von Miller and to a lesser extent D Ware. I guess I'd rank Elway top 5 just for remaking the defense but Von Miller is Superman.

 

[Broncos6482]

Getting Ware and drafting Von Miller were both huge. Wolfe and Trevathan were both steals in the draft. Peyton was giftwrapped...I think Peyton chooses Denver if Beyonce is the GM. Talib and Darian Stewart...mostly luck that those guys haven't backfired but they work somehow. Julius Thomas was a product of Peyton. Roby will end up being a steal.

A lot of Denver was Peyton, Demaryius Thomas, Von Miller and to a lesser extent D Ware. I guess I'd rank Elway top 5 just for remaking the defense but Von Miller is Superman.

I think you're way underestimating Elway's role in that. Elway sold Denver to Peyton. Denver wasn't expected to be a serious contender for Manning, but Elway convinced him. There's no way Manning is a Bronco without John Elway.

 

[Clayton]

I think you're way underestimating Elway's role in that. Elway sold Denver to Peyton. Denver wasn't expected to be a serious contender for Manning, but Elway convinced him. There's no way Manning is a Bronco without John Elway.

I actually think Peyton was worried about his arm strength and thought Denver altitude would extend his career. Peyton was really worried his career was done after Indy from what I remember hearing. I think it was Denver or bust for him.

 

[Gatorchip]

These options suck.

He's a good GM, but I don't want to see him continue to succeed. And "getting lucky with Manning" makes no sense because it was the great defense he put together that finally won it for him. This playoff run could have been won with Manziel at QB.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

These options suck.

He's a good GM, but I don't want to see him continue to succeed.

Never could trust someone whom's face looked like a horse.

But yeah, it's rather annoying to have 3 straight 2nd place finishes behind Denver, not gonna lie.

 

[Clayton]

These options suck.

He's a good GM, but I don't want to see him continue to succeed. And "getting lucky with Manning" makes no sense because it was the great defense he put together that finally won it for him. This playoff run could have been won with Manziel at QB.

Denver would be playing out of the Wild Card the other years if it wasn't for Peyton. Manning beat the Chiefs a few times almost basically by himself.

If we are strictly just talking about the 1 championship...Peyton probably doesn't matter except for giving Osweiler a high bar to try and reach.

 

[ducky]

He's been a monster in FA.

Most GM's just pay the guys on their roster. Not Elway. He'll pick and choose and upgrade his roster along the way.

2014 is his gem:

Let Decker walk and signed Sanders instead for millions less.
Used some of that millions he saved there, to sign Ware while letting Woodyard walk.
Let DRC walk and used that money to sign Talib.

It wasn't really all that much different in terms of money but it was a radically different and better roster. Most GM's would have just signed the players they had and called it a day.

 

[Keystone]

Getting Ware and drafting Von Miller were both huge. Wolfe and Trevathan were both steals in the draft. Peyton was giftwrapped...I think Peyton chooses Denver if Beyonce is the GM. Talib and Darian Stewart...mostly luck that those guys haven't backfired but they work somehow. Julius Thomas was a product of Peyton. Roby will end up being a steal.

A lot of Denver was Peyton, Demaryius Thomas, Von Miller and to a lesser extent D Ware. I guess I'd rank Elway top 5 just for remaking the defense but Von Miller is Superman.

Disagree on Peyton coming to Denver if Beyonce was Broncos GM. But we'd probably carry 1st pick in the draft if that was the case.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

He's been a monster in FA.

Most GM's just pay the guys on their roster. Not Elway. He'll pick and choose and upgrade his roster along the way.

2014 is his gem:

Let Decker walk and signed Sanders instead for millions less.
Used some of that millions he saved there, to sign Ware while letting Woodyard walk.
Let DRC walk and used that money to sign Talib.

It wasn't really all that much different in terms of money but it was a radically different and better roster. Most GM's would have just signed the players they had and called it a day.

Do most GM's get that chance like Elway did? When it comes down to it- not many have as attractive a pitch as having Peyton Manning as the QB. Heck, we had Emmanuel Sanders reneg a deal with the Chiefs and ended up in Denver in short order. Credit to Elway for leveraging this to full effect- but I suspect the next 5 years will be much more complicated in FA for him.

 

[Broncos6482]

I actually think Peyton was worried about his arm strength and thought Denver altitude would extend his career. Peyton was really worried his career was done after Indy from what I remember hearing. I think it was Denver or bust for him.

That's just not really accurate. Remember the "Peyton can't play in the cold" narrative? The Broncos were not considered one of the more likely landing spots for Manning until he narrowed his list of teams.

 

[ducky]

Do most GM's get that chance like Elway did? When it comes down to it- not many have as attractive a pitch as having Peyton Manning as the QB. Heck, we had Emmanuel Sanders reneg a deal with the Chiefs and ended up in Denver in short order. Credit to Elway for leveraging this to full effect- but I suspect the next 5 years will be much more complicated in FA for him.

That was just one player really in Sanders though.

Most people trashed Elway in 2014 when he committed as much money to Ware, Ward and Talib. Make no mistake about it: Those players signing in Denver was all about the Benjamin's and not about Manning's. They all got paid top dollar and in each case there were different ways that Elway and the Broncos could have went. But in the end Elway hand picked what turned out to be the best possible path forward.

 

[Broncos6482]

Do most GM's get that chance like Elway did? When it comes down to it- not many have as attractive a pitch as having Peyton Manning as the QB. Heck, we had Emmanuel Sanders reneg a deal with the Chiefs and ended up in Denver in short order. Credit to Elway for leveraging this to full effect- but I suspect the next 5 years will be much more complicated in FA for him.

Having Peyton Manning has certainly helped, but I also think Elway deserves a lot of credit. Being a former player, I think he can put together a better sales pitch than most.

One thing is certain, I believe this will be his most challenging offseason since he took over. There are a lot of tough decisions to make.

 

[flyerhawk]

I think you could argue he is Top 5. I would like to see better drafts though.

 

[Clayton]

That's just not really accurate. Remember the "Peyton can't play in the cold" narrative? The Broncos were not considered one of the more likely landing spots for Manning until he narrowed his list of teams.

I remember seeing an ESPN(?) special that highlighted his time when he left the Colts. He had some sort of throw around with his brother in the offseason and his arm was dead and he was worried that he was done. He had a couple of teams in mind but you have to think that the whole Denver altitude, which was mentioned in the special, came into play. I also think Elway being chummy helped but I think Denver's oline being better than some of the alternatives and Denver already having Demariyus Thomas helped.

 

[Broncos6482]

That was just one player really in Sanders though.

Most people trashed Elway in 2014 when he committed as much money to Ware, Ward and Talib. Make no mistake about it: Those players signing in Denver was all about the Benjamin's and not about Manning's.

I think the Ward signing was looked at as a good signing, but people definitely thought he committed too much money to Talib and Ware.

 

[Broncos6482]

I remember seeing an ESPN(?) special that highlighted his time when he left the Colts. He had some sort of throw around with his brother in the offseason and his arm was dead and he was worried that he was done. He had a couple of teams in mind but you have to think that the whole Denver altitude, which was mentioned in the special, came into play. I also think Elway being chummy helped but I think Denver's oline being better than some of the alternatives and Denver already having Demariyus Thomas helped.

The altitude factor for his arm is really overplayed, it doesn't make that much of a difference.

Having a good line, especially a good left tackle in Ryan Clady was also definitely a factor. DT wasn't really DT yet, though. He'd had a great game in the playoffs against the Steelers, but he didn't really have a breakout season until 2012.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

The altitude factor for his arm is really overplayed, it doesn't make that much of a difference.

Having a good line, especially a good left tackle in Ryan Clady was also definitely a factor. DT wasn't really DT yet, though. He'd had a great game in the playoffs against the Steelers, but he didn't really have a breakout season until 2012.

Yeah I don't see this myself. Manning isn't a punter or kicker; nor is he trying out for the Rockies. For a QB it's mostly negligible.