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<p>Big fan of Denver football? Then check out this list of Denver Broncos wide receivers.&nbsp;It includes every starting wide receiver from throughout Denver Broncos history, including new wide receivers and past ones. Featuring current Denver Broncos&nbsp;and some of the greatest NFL&nbsp;wide receivers of all time,&nbsp;the best Broncos&nbsp;WRs include Rod Smith, Deymarious Thomas, Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson, and Steve Watson.</p>

<p>Who are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-wide-receivers-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best wide receivers</a> in Denver Broncos history? Vote below and help decide the greatest Broncos WR&nbsp;of all time.</p>


The 30+ Best Denver Broncos Wide Receivers, Ranked

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Rod Smith

Roderick Duane Smith (born May 15, 1970) is a former American football wide receiver who played thirteen seasons for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).  He played college football at Missouri Southern State.  He was originally signed by the Broncos as an undrafted free agent and played his entire career with the team.  As of 2017's offseason, his 849 career receptions and 11,389 receiving yards ranked him 27th and 31st all-time.

Ed McCaffrey

Edward Thomas McCaffrey (born August 17, 1968) is a former professional American football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons.  McCaffrey played college football for Stanford University and earned first-team All-American honors.  The New York Giants chose him in the third round of the 1991 NFL Draft.  He also played for the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos.

Rick Upchurch

Ricky "Rick" Upchurch (born May 20, 1952) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for the Denver Broncos (1975–1983) of the National Football League (NFL).  Before his NFL career, he played for Centerville Community College in Centerville, Iowa and the University of Minnesota and went to high school at Springfield High School in Holland, Ohio.  In 2000, Upchurch was named one of the 300 best NFL players of all time.In his nine NFL seasons, Upchurch excelled as a receiver and a kick returner on special teams. In his rookie season, he rushed for 97 yards, caught 18 passes for 436 yards, returned 27 punts for 312 yards, and added another 1,014 yards returning kickoffs.  In his second season, he set an NFL record by returning four punts for touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl. In the 1977 season, he led the NFL with 653 punt return yards and assisted his team to their first ever Super Bowl appearance. The Broncos lost Super Bowl XII to the Dallas Cowboys 27-10, but he had a good performance in the game. Upchurch amassed 125 total offensive yards (94 kickoff return, 22 punt return, 9 receiving), including a Super Bowl record 67-yard kickoff return in the 3rd quarter that set up Denver's only touchdown of the game.
Upchurch stayed with the Broncos until the 1983 season. He led the NFL in punt return average twice (1978 and 1982), and was selected to the Pro Bowl three more times (1978, 1979, 1982). He finished his nine-season career with 49 carries for 349 rushing yards, 267 receptions for 4,369 yards, 248 punt returns for 3,008 yards, and 95 kickoff returns for 2,355 yards.  Overall, Upchurch gained 10,081 total yards and scored 35 touchdowns: eight returning punts, 24 receiving, and three rushing. He was also selected All-Pro five times. At the time of his retirement, he was the NFL's career leader in punt return yards, and his eight punt returns for touchdowns tied the NFL record shared by Jack Christiansen. He is one of five players to record a career average of over 12 yards per punt return.
After his retirement from the NFL, Upchurch coached football at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas during the early to mid-1990s. In 2005, Upchurch became the head football coach at East High School in Pueblo, Colorado in 2005, where the team posted a 1-19 record in his two seasons as head coach. Upchurch currently resides in Mesquite, Nevada, and frequently visits nearby communities such as St. George, Utah, and Logandale, Nevada, to sign autographs for Broncos fans. Upchurch is ranked the sixth-greatest return specialist in NFL history on NFL Network's NFL Top 10 Return Aces.
As of 2017's NFL off-season, Rick Upchurch held at least 11 Broncos franchise records, including:

Punt Returns: career (248), season (51 in 1977), game (8 on 1978-10-22 @BAL; with Trindon Holliday)
Punt Return Yds: career (3,008), season (653 in 1977)
Punt Return TDs: career (8), season (4 in 1976), game (2 on 1976-09-26 CLE; with Darrien Gordon)
Total Return Yds: career (5,363), playoffs (351), playoff season (222 in 1977)

Demaryius Thomas

Demaryius Antwon Thomas (December 25, 1987 – December 9, 2021) was an American football wide receiver. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and was drafted by the Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. With Denver, Thomas made four Pro Bowls and won Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers. He also played for the Houston Texans, New England Patriots, and New York Jets.

Steve Watson

Steve Ross Watson (born May 28, 1957) is a former American football wide receiver and current wide receivers coach.
After high school at St. Mark's High School in Wilmington, Delaware, Watson attended Temple University and entered the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 1979.
Watson played his entire nine year NFL career in Denver, appearing in 125 games. After recording only six receptions in each of his first two seasons, in 1981 Watson had 60 receptions for a career-best 1,244 yards and league-leading 13 TDs (including a 95-yard reception in game 6, the longest in the NFL that season and 3rd longest in franchise history). His 20.73 yards per catch remains a Broncos franchise record, and earned him a spot in the 1981 Pro Bowl. Watson had 555 receiving yards the 9 game strike shortened season in 1982, hauled in 59 receptions for 1,133 yards in 1983 and a career-best 69 receptions for 1,170 in 1984. The 13-3 Broncos lost to Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs, but Watson had 11 receptions for a franchise record 177 yards. Watson started 31 of 32 games over the next two years, but saw his production fall to 915 yards, then 699. After starting just one game in the 1987 season, Watson retired with career totals of 353 receptions for 6,112 yards and 36 touchdowns.

Haven Moses

Haven Christopher Moses (born July 27, 1946) is a former professional American football player.  He played professionally for fourteen seasons as a wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). 
Moses initially played college football at Los Angeles Harbor College, then transferred to San Diego State University under head coach Don Coryell.

Eric Decker

Eric Thomas Decker (born March 15, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 8 seasons. He played college football and college baseball at the University of Minnesota, and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. After four seasons with the Broncos, he played for the New York Jets for three years and then the Tennessee Titans for one year.

Mike Haffner

Michael Arthur Haffner (born July 7, 1942) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for four seasons for the Denver Broncos (1968–1970) and Cincinnati Bengals (1971). As of 2017's NFL off-season, he still held the Broncos rookie franchise record for yards per reception at 30.5, for a 4 reception, 122 yard performance on 14 Dec 1968 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Emmanuel Sanders

Emmanuel Niamiah Sanders  (born March 17, 1987) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at SMU, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Lionel Taylor

Lionel Thomas Taylor (born August 15, 1935) is a former American football wide receiver who led the American Football League (AFL) in receptions for five of the first six years of the league's existence.

Brandon Stokley

Brandon Ray Stokley (born June 23, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver and current radio personality. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisiana.
Stokley also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos, earning two Super Bowl wins during his career.

Billy Van Heusen

Billy Van Heusen (born August 27, 1946) is a former professional football punter and wide receiver who played for the Denver Broncos from 1968 to 1976. On Oct 6, 1968, he tied a franchise record with 12 punts against the Cincinnati Bengals

Mike Young

Michael David Young (born February 21, 1962 in Hanford, California) is a former professional Football Player.  He was a wide receiver in the NFL for ten seasons, playing for the Los Angeles Rams, the Denver Broncos, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Kansas City Chiefs.  Michael Young’s career in professional sports has spanned over 33 years as he is one of the very few NFL players to occupy senior level executive positions for multiple professional sports franchises.

Jack Dolbin

John Tice Dolbin, Jr. (October 12, 1948 – August 1, 2019) was a professional American football wide receiver who played five seasons for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He started for the Broncos in Super Bowl XII and played in 62 consecutive games for the Broncos during his five-season tenure with the team. He is considered one of the most successful players that surged from the World Football League. Before his WFL career he played on sandlots for the semi-pro Pottstown Firebirds of the Atlantic Coast Football League and Schuylkill County Coal Crackers of the Seaboard Football League.  National College of Chiropractic graduate and nationally recognized expert on chiropractic and sports.

Brandon Marshall

Brandon Tyrone Marshall (born March 23, 1984) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played college football at UCF, and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Marshall has also played for the Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, New York Jets, New York Giants, and the Seattle Seahawks. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as a free agent on November 12, 2018, he was later released that season on December 12, 2018 without appearing in a single game for the Saints.
Marshall is known for his ability to break and dodge tackles. He led all NFL wide receivers in yards after first contact for the 2007 NFL season. Regarding Marshall's breakaway ability, cornerback Brandon Flowers said, "Brandon Marshall is a defensive lineman playing wide receiver. He wants to inflict punishment on you. He wants you to try to tackle him so he can shove you off of him and get more yards." Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said Marshall is "the toughest guy to bring down, one-on-one."On December 13, 2009, against the Indianapolis Colts, Marshall set an NFL record for receptions in a game with 21. He also is one of six players in NFL history to catch at least 100 passes in three consecutive seasons.

Butch Johnson

Michael "Butch" McColly Johnson (born May 28, 1954) is a former American football  wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college football at the University of California, Riverside and was drafted in the third round (87th overall) of the 1976 NFL Draft.



Wes Welker

Wesley Carter Welker (born May 1, 1981) is a former American football wide receiver who is currently an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. Welker went on to also play for the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, and St. Louis Rams.
Despite being undrafted, Welker had a successful career. Only one player in NFL history, Gale Sayers, had more all-purpose yards in his first three NFL seasons than Welker did with the Dolphins; Welker holds the Dolphins' all-time records for total kickoff returns, kickoff return yardage, and total punt returns. Welker also holds the record for most receptions by any undrafted player in NFL history, passing Rod Smith in 2014. He retired with 16,797 all-purpose yards.
As a Patriot, Welker led the league in receptions in 2007, 2009, and 2011. Welker holds the four highest single-season reception totals in Patriots' history, as well as four of the top 10 receiving yardage totals, including the franchise record. He also holds the franchise records for most receptions in a single game, most receiving yards in a single game, longest reception, and career receptions. Welker, who had three consecutive 110-reception seasons (and has five total), is the first receiver in NFL history with at least three 110-reception seasons, and the first with five 100-reception seasons. Welker was selected to the Pro Bowl, the All-Pro Team, or both, in every season of his Patriots career.

Courtland Sutton

Courtland Sutton is an American football wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at SMU. 
Sutton played in two games as a true freshman at SMU in 2014, before suffering an injury and taking a medical redshirt. As a redshirt freshman in 2015, he started all 12 games, recording 49 receptions for 862 yards and nine touchdowns. After the season he played in three games for SMU's basketball team. As a sophomore in 2016, Sutton started all 12 games and had 76 receptions for 1,246 yards and 12 touchdowns. Sutton considered entering the 2017 NFL Draft, but instead, he decided to return to college for his redshirt junior year. On December 22, 2017, Sutton officially declared that he would enter the 2018 NFL Draft after completing his junior year.

Jerry Jeudy

Jerry Davarus Jeudy (born April 24, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was awarded the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's best wide receiver as a sophomore in 2018, and was drafted by the Broncos with the 15th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Bob Scarpitto

Bob Scarpitto was an American college and professional football player.  A halfback, flanker and punter, he played college football at the University of Notre Dame, and played professionally in the American Football League for the San Diego Chargers in 1961, for the Denver Broncos from 1962 through 1967, and then for the AFL's Boston Patriots in 1968.  He was an American Football League All-Star in 1966.  
As of 2017's NFL off-season, Bob Scarpitto held at least 3 Broncos franchise records, including:

Most punts in a season (105 in 1967)
Most punts in a game (12 on 1967-09-10 @OAK; tied with 2 others)
Most punt yards in a game (565 on 1967-09-10 @OAK)Scarpitto played high school football at Rahway High School.

Eddie Royal

William Edward "Eddie" Royal (born May 21, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist . He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia Tech. Royal has also played for the San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears.

Rod Sherman

Rodney Jarvis "Rod" Sherman (born December 25, 1944) is a former American football wide receiver who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL).

Vance Johnson

Vance Edward Johnson (born March 13, 1963), is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft. A 5'11", 174 lb. wide receiver from the University of Arizona, Johnson played his entire NFL career for the Broncos from 1985 to 1995. Johnson was a World-Class long jumper. In 1982, Johnson won the NCAA championship, as well as winning the gold medal at the Junior Pan American games. In 1984 Johnson just missed making the U.S. Olympic team, finishing fourth in the long jump at the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Johnson assisted the Broncos to three Super Bowl appearances in the 1980s and had an impressive performance in Super Bowl XXI, recording five catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.  His best season was in 1989, when he recorded 76 receptions for 1,095 yards and seven touchdowns.  In his 11 seasons, Johnson recorded 415 receptions for 5,695 yards and 37 touchdowns, while also rushing 17 times for 44 yards.  He also gained 689 yards on punt returns, and 1,027 yards returning kickoffs. Johnson and fellow Broncos wide receivers Ricky Nattiel and Mark Jackson all played together from 1987 to 1992 and were nicknamed "The Three Amigos."As of 2017's NFL off-season, Vance Johnson held at least 3 Broncos franchise records, including:

Punt Returns: playoffs (13), playoff season (7 in 1989; with Darrien Gordon)
100+ yard receiving games: playoffs (3; with Demaryius Thomas)

Eric Crabtree

Eric Leslie Crabtree (born November 3, 1944) is a former American football wide receiver in the American Football League and the National Football League. He played six seasons for the Denver Broncos (1966–1968), the Cincinnati Bengals (1969–1971), and the New England Patriots (1971).

Bill Groman

William Frederick Groman (born July 17, 1936) is an American football player.  A wide receiver, he played college football at Heidelberg College, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Houston Oilers from 1960 through 1962 and was on the first two AFL Championship teams.  He played for the Denver Broncos in 1963, and for the Buffalo Bills in 1964 and 1965, playing on the Bills' two American Football League Championship teams.  In his six years of professional football, he played on four AFL championship teams, the only man ever to do so.
Groman has more yards receiving in a rookie year than any other player (1,473 in 1960, when the season was 14 games long rather than the current 16).  He was selected as one of the offensive ends on the first Sporting News AFL All-League Team in 1960. He also has the most TDs by receptions in his first 2 years (29: 12 in 1960 and 17 in 1961). He played three more full seasons with the Oilers, winning another AFL title before going to the Buffalo Bills in 1964. In two seasons where he played in five games in each season, he won two more AFL titles. In his six year career, he had 3,481 receiving yards (2,008 in the five years after his rookie season), 36 touchdowns and 174 receptions.

Big fan of Denver football? Then check out this list of Denver Broncos wide receivers.&nbsp;It includes every starting wide receiver from throughout Denver ...