The 30 best quarterbacks in NFL history
By Randy Gurzi
7. Best NFL quarterbacks of all time: John Elway
A great athlete, John Elway used his ability as a baseball player as leverage after he was picked first overall in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts. Believing the franchise would struggle for years to build a good team, Elway said he would join the New York Yankees who held his rights in Major League Baseball.
Expressing his desire to stay on the west coast led teams such as the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers to explore a trade, with the possibility of a Joe Montana for John Elway swap being on the table. In the end, he was traded to the Denver Broncos and became the best player the franchise ever had.
Elway was 4-6 as a rookie and had twice as many interceptions (14) as touchdowns (7). However, he quickly started to put it together as he went 12-2 as a starter in his second season, followed by consecutive 11-5 campaigns. By 1986, he had the Broncos in the Super Bowl as they beat the Cleveland Browns in a fourth-quarter comeback which is known simply as “The Drive.”
They were unable to win the championship that season, but Elway continued to have success as he proved to be adept with both his arms and his legs. He finished his career with 51,475 yards passing and 300 touchdowns while adding another 31 with his legs.
As good as he was throughout his career, Elway continued to be looked at as a player who couldn’t win the big one. In three tries he had been unsuccessful until he finally knocked off the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. He returned for one final season and again made it to the big game, this time earning the MVP honors as they beat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway rode off into the sunset a champion before returning to win another as the general manager of the team.