In honor of the draft later this month, 9NEWS has put together the easiest Broncos trivia quiz of all time.
April Fools!
This draft-related Broncos quiz may not be the most difficult 9NEWS has put together since the trivia series began last year. But it’s far from easy.
In fact, all you have to do is get 4.5 correct answers from this 9-question quiz to earn yourself the distinction as diehard Broncos fan.
Good luck.
QUESTIONS
1. The Broncos have selected seven first-round draft picks who never played for them. Name four of the seven for a full point.
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2. The Broncos took this player with the first of their two, eighth-round draft picks in 1963. Converted from halfback to tight end by new head coach Mac Speedie in 1964, this player was traded to the Raiders prior to the 1966 season and became one of the American Football League’s most dominant fullbacks. (Because I’m a nice guy, you do not get docked a half point if you say his first name incorrectly. Too difficult.)
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3. Sure, John Elway has had some forgettable second-round draft picks, but he was a genius compared to Josh McDaniels’ terrible selections in the second round of the 2009 draft.
In what was the worst draft trade in team history, the Broncos in 2009 acquired Seattle’s No. 37 pick in the second round in exchange for Denver’s first-round pick in the following year’s 2010 draft.
The Broncos’ No. 37 pick in 2009 turned out to cornerback Alphonso Smith. Two-part question, each worth a half-point.
Part 1: Who did Seattle select with the No. 14 pick in the 2010 draft they got from Denver?
Part 2: Who was the Broncos’ secondary coach who didn’t play Smith as a rookie, then signed off on trading him away before Smith’s second season in Denver?
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4. Alphonso Smith was the first of three, second-round picks by the Broncos in 2009. Who were the team’s other two second-round picks? (Half point for each correct answer).
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5. One more piece of trivia from the regrettable Alphonso Smith era. When he was traded to the Lions prior to the 2010 season, which player did the Broncos get in return? (Hint, his last name will go down as one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history).
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6. McDaniels may not have always evaluated well, but he was creative in the way he moved his picks up and down on draft day. The Broncos never had two, first-round picks in the same draft until 2009 and then they had two, first-rounders again in 2010.
Those are the only years the Broncos have had multiple first-round picks and they happen to be the only two years McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders were in charge of the Broncos’ football operations.
Since it was within the last 10 years, name all four of those first-round picks in 2009-10 to get credit for one correct answer.
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7. The Broncos selected three future Pro Football Hall of Famers in the 1964 draft, but none of them played for them. Name two of the three for a full point.
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8. The Broncos’ greatest draft trade occurred a week after the 1983 draft took place, when they acquired quarterback John Elway from the Baltimore Colts in exchange for left guard Chris Hinton, quarterback Mark Herrmann and Denver’s No. 1 pick in the following year’s 1984 draft.
Who did the Colts’ select with the first-round pick in 1984 they acquired from the Broncos?
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9. The NFL Draft contracted from 12 rounds to eight in 1993 and then from eight rounds to seven in 1994.
Broncos general manager John Beake and head coach Wade Phillips were ready in 1994 with three, 7th-round draft picks.
They took future special teams standout Keith Burns with their first, 7th-rounder, No. 210 overall. They then selected running back Butler By’note’e with their second, 7th-round selection, No. 212 overall.
What future Ring of Famer did the Broncos take with their third and final, 7th-round pick that year, No. 218 overall in the 222-pick draft?
ANSWERS
1. Merlin Olsen, Kermit Alexander, Bob Brown, Dick Butkus, Jerry Shay, Chris Hinton and Ted Gregory
Olsen (1962), Alexander (1963), Brown (1964), Butkus (1965) and Shay (1966) all signed with NFL teams instead of the so-called inferior American Football League Broncos.
Hinton (1983) was part of the John Elway trade a week after the draft and became one of the best offensive linemen in Colts’ history.
Gregory (1988) is generally regarded as the No. 1 draft bust in Broncos history as he was traded to New Orleans before the start of his rookie season. He blew out his knee in his only his third game for the Saints and never played again.
Bob Gaiters didn’t play for Broncos when he was their first-ever official, first-round draft pick in 1961. But after two years in the NFL, he played for the Broncos in 1963.
2. Hewritt Dixon
Not Hewitt Dixon, which is what I thought his first name was as I thought back. Hewritt. A backup halfback and tight end as a Broncos rookie in 1963 and through the first four games of 1964, Dixon became Denver’s starting tight end when Speedie replaced the fired Jack Faulkner prior to game 5 of 1964.
Dixon was one of the AFL’s top tight ends with 38 catches for 585 yards in 1964 and added 25 catches for 354 yards in 1965.
He was traded to the Raiders prior to the 1966 season in exchange for middle linebacker Archie Matsos. Dixon was both a tight end and fullback for the Raiders in 1966, but he became the AFL’s No. 3 leading rusher as a fullback in 1968, when he was selected first-time All Pro. He was also a four-time Pro Bowler for the Raiders.
Dixon died in 1992 at the young age of 52 following a battle with cancer.
3. Earl Thomas and Ed Donatell
Again, that trade wound up Alphonso Smith for Earl Thomas. Ugh. Thomas was a nine-year starting safety for the Seahawks, a six-time Pro Bowler, three-time All Pro and played in two Super Bowls, winning one – 43-8 against the Broncos in Super Bowl 48.
Smith barely played for the Broncos as a rookie, then had eight interceptions in his next two seasons with the Detroit Lions, including two pick sixes. But he appeared in just four games of his fourth season of 2012 before he was released and never played again.
Donatell was the Broncos’ secondary coach under McDaniels in 2009-10 in what was his second of three stints with the team.
After the 2010 season, Donatell hooked up with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in San Francisco in 2011 and they have been partners ever since. Donatell is now the Broncos’ defensive coordinator under Fangio the head coach.
4. Darcel McBath, a safety, and tight end Richard Quinn
McBath intercepted Brady Quinn and Peyton Manning as a rookie, but he missed the final three games with a broken forearm. McBath had an ankle injury in his second season of 2010 and played in just seven games.
He was waived by the new Elway-John Fox regime before the start of his third season in 2011. McBath played in just 20 games and started just once with the Broncos.
Quinn was a shocking second-round selection as he had just 12 catches combined in three seasons at North Carolina.
That was Rob Gronkowski-like production compared to his NFL career. He had just one catch for 9 yards in his two seasons with the Broncos before he, too, was cut by the Elway-Fox regime prior to the 2011 season. Quinn played in just one more NFL game.
Alphonso Smith, Darcel McBath, Richard Quinn. Strike one, strike two, strike three. In sheer volume, the worst second-round in Broncos’ history.
5. Dan Gronkowski
Five years older than his brother Rob Gronkowski, the New England Patriot great who just retired, Dan Gronkowski had eight catches for 65 yards in his lone season with the Broncos in 2010.
Dan Gronkowski was then released as part of the final cuts by, you guessed it, the new Elway-Fox regime in 2011.
6. In order, Knowshon Moreno and Robert Ayers in the first round of the 2009 draft, Demaryius Thomas and Tim Tebow in 2010
D.T. was the best of the group as he became the team’s No. 2 all-time receiver in yards (9,055) and touchdowns (60), while finishing third in catches (665). He will wind up in the Broncos’ Ring of Fame.
Moreno was a 1,000-yard running back during the Broncos’ offensive record-setting 2013 season that was spoiled by the embarrassing Super Bowl loss to Seattle.
Tebow led the Broncos to six consecutive regular-season wins, an AFC West title and another playoff victory in 2011.
Ayers played five seasons with the Broncos, then two more each with the Giants and Bucs.
Only Thomas was in the league in 2018, but he is currently unsigned for 2019.
7. Bob Brown (1st round), Paul Krause (12th round) and Bob Hayes (14th)
Brown, thus, was a partial answer to two questions. The offensive tackle signed instead with the Eagles in 1964. Krause, whose 81 career interceptions has held as the NFL record for 40 years, instead signed with Washington in 1964. Hayes instead signed with the Dallas Cowboys.
8. Ron Solt
A Pro Bowl right guard in his fourth season of 1987 for the Colts, Solt was embroiled in a contract dispute to start his fifth season and was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. He was suspended four games for steroid use to start the 1990 season and finished up his career back with the Colts in 1992.
9. Tom Nalen
He played 14 seasons with the Broncos, 13 as their starting center from 1995 until he suffered a torn biceps injury in the seventh game of the 2007 season.
He was a five-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion. He was named the NFL’s Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2003.
Still, Nalen is not the best 7th-round draft choice in Broncos history. That distinction belongs to running back Peyton Hillis, who was the No. 227 overall pick in 2008.
Kidding, Tom, kidding! The best 7th-round pick in Broncos history is Shannon Sharpe, who was drafted as a receiver with the No. 192 overall selection in 1990. Sharpe was converted to tight end and became the fourth Bronco inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
