As we continue our march through the NFL summer, we're breaking down the three best players to ever wear each jersey number for the Denver Broncos. The selection of each player in the top three is heavily influenced by Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value metric, but it's not the only factor.
Today, we arrive at the No. 8. Currently. That number is rocked by backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Is 'Stiddy' one of the best to ever wear the No. 8? No. Who is?
Let's dive in.
Gary Kubiak | QB | 1983-1991
There are No. 8 Broncos with a higher AV score, but Kubiak is first because of how he influenced Broncos canon both as a backup quarterback for nine years, and as a coach.
As a player, Kubiak was drafted by the Broncos in the eighth round out of Texas A&M the same year that John Elway arrived. The two would be camp roommates and fast friends.
That relationship would last throughout Kubiak's playing career and into his coaching tenure. As a player, he suited up for 119 games and started five, going 3-2. He had a 14-to-16 touchdown-to-interception ratio and passed for 1,920 yards.
The best write-up on Kubiak's playing career comes from former Broncos PR czar Jim Saccomano, who was there for the young quarterback's first career start in relief of Elway vs. the then-division rival Seattle Seahawks. Give it a read.
Kubiak was Elway's backup on three Super Bowl teams. Alas, as a player duo, Kubiak and Elway never got to the top of the mountain, but that would change in the late '90s.
After beginning his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, Kubiak would join future Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers. In 1995, Shanahan and Kubiak would return to the Mile High City, with 'Kube' as the offensive coordinator.
Finally, triumph. The Broncos would win back-to-back Super Bowls before Elway retired and rode off into the sunset. Kubiak would stay on under Shanahan, but in 2008, he accepted the head-coaching gig of the still-fledgling Houston Texans.
Following his eight-year tenure in Houston, Kubiak had a one-year stint in Baltimore as the Ravens' offensive coordinator. By then, Elway had become the Broncos' general manager and had parted ways with head coach John Fox following yet another one-and-done Divisional Round exit from the playoffs.
Elway hired Kubiak as head coach in January of 2015. Under the 'Iron Sharpens Iron' flag, Kubiak led the Broncos to triumph yet again in Super Bowl 50. We can say that every Lombardi Trophy the Broncos have at Dove Valley has Elway's fingerprints on it. The same can be said of Kubiak.
As a player, Kubiak was regarded by many as one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL. As a coach, he was a Shanahan acolyte and one of the proponents of the zone-blocking variant of the West Coast Offense, a philosophy that still dominates in the NFL.
Kubiak's Broncos legacy is iron-clad.
Brandon McManus | K | 2014-2022
McManus has the highest AV rating at PFR, and for a reason. He was a specialist mainstay in Denver for nearly a decade and contributed to a World Championship.
Going undrafted out of Temple University in 2013, McManus' arrival in Denver was supposed to be a temporary stop-gap for Matt Prater, who was serving a four-game suspension to open the 2014 season.
McManus' big leg was on full display, and after dealing with Prater's off-the-field drama, which kept impacting his on-the-field availability, the Broncos ripped off the band-aid, rolling with McManus. It was a relatively gutsy move, as Prater was a decorated kicker who'd won many games in the clutch on a team with bonafide Super Bowl aspirations.
Those aspirations culminated in triumph one year later, as McManus got to kick in Super Bowl 50 and won himself a ring. He would stick around for years, garnering a sizable contract, and serving as a team captain and the club's NFLPA rep.
When Sean Payton arrived in 2023, it spelled the end for McManus in Denver, but he's deserving of being on this list.
Kyle Orton | QB | 2009-11
Orton arrived as part of the controversial trade package that sent Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears. It wasn't Orton's fault that then-Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels made one of the biggest blunders of the 2000s, and the young quarterback would always struggle to fit in with the fanbase.
I'm not sure that Orton ever did get the love from Broncos Country, because McDaniels drafted Tim Tebow in the first round the following year. Try as he might, Orton couldn't lead a depleted Broncos squad to the promised land, which led to the fanbase demanding to see Tebow on the field.
John Fox arrived in 2011 as head coach, pitting Orton and Tebow in an open competition in training camp. Orton won, as Fox claimed that he gave the Broncos "the best chance to win."
Alas, after a 1-4 start, the Broncos brass couldn't ignore the calls for Tebow, and Orton was benched in Week 7. It became the wild Tebow Mania show from there, and the Broncos waived Orton in November.
Orton would get the last laugh, though, getting claimed by the lowly Kansas City Chiefs. In the season finale, a win at home vs. the Chiefs would guarantee an AFC West crown and a playoff berth, while a loss would still keep the Broncos alive, but would require other teams to lose to secure the postseason.
Orton defeated the Broncos at Mile High, 7-3, in what was a rather pitiful performance from Tebow. Fortunately, the arithmetic panned out in the Broncos' favor, and the next week, they found themselves hosting the defending AFC-champion Pittsburgh Steelers. We know what happened next.
As a Bronco, Orton would start 33 games, going 12-21. Unfortunately for him, his Broncos tenure was sandwiched between two former first-round picks the fans clamored for, and during one of the darker periods in team history.
