As we continue our series listing the best players to wear each jersey number for the Denver Broncos, we’ve reached another easy number.
Steve Atwater was the best player to ever wear No. 27 for the Broncos, and there’s no argument to be made otherwise.
Atwater was picked by the Broncos in the first round of the 1989 NFL draft out of Arkansas. He went on to spend the next 10 seasons in Denver, earning eight Pro Bowl nods and three AP All-Pro selections.
Atwater won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Broncos in the late 1990s before playing the final year of his career with the New York Jets. He retired in 2000 with 1,188 career tackles, 24 interceptions, eight forced fumbles and five sacks on his resume.
Atwater is a member of the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team, the Broncos’ Ring of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
We also want to give a special nod to another No. 27, late cornerback Darrent Williams, who was shot and killed on New Year’s Day in 2007. Williams was a brilliant player and by all accounts an amazing person, too. We’ll never forget him.
