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1983 Denver Broncos
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Record: 9-7-0, Finished 2nd in AFC West Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 302 points (18.9/g), 21st of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 327 points (20.4/g), 9th.
Differential of -25 points (-1.6/g), 19th.
Expected W-L: 7.2-8.8.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +6 (0.4/g), 8th.
Coached by Dan Reeves (9-7-0)
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1983 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
Starters
Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | John Elway | 23 | Rook | 10 | 123 for 259, 1,663 yards, 7 td, 14 int, & 28 rushes for 146 yards and 1 td | Baltimore Colts / 1st / 1st pick / 1983 |
| QB | Steve DeBerg | 29 | 5 | 5 | 119 for 215, 1,617 yards, 9 td, 7 int, & 13 rushes for 28 yards and 1 td | Dallas Cowboys / 10th / 275th pick / 1977 |
| RB | Sammy Winder | 24 | 1 | 13 | 196 rushes for 757 yards, 3 td, & 23 catches for 150 yards and 0 td | Denver Broncos / 5th / 131st pick / 1982 |
| FB | Nathan Poole | 27 | 4 | 10 | 81 rushes for 246 yards, 4 td, & 20 catches for 184 yards and 0 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 10th / 250th pick / 1979 |
| FB | Rick Parros | 25 | 2 | 5 | 30 rushes for 96 yards, 1 td, & 12 catches for 126 yards and 2 td | Denver Broncos / 4th / 107th pick / 1980 |
| WR | Rick Upchurch | 31 | 8 | 11 | 40 catches for 639 yards, 2 td, & 6 rushes for 19 yards and 0 td | Denver Broncos / 4th / 95th pick / 1975 |
| WR | Steve Watson | 26 | 4 | 16 | 59 catches for 1,133 yards, 5 td, & 3 rushes for 17 yards and 0 td | |
| TE | Ron Egloff | 28 | 6 | 10 | 20 catches for 205 yards, 2 td | |
| TE | James Wright | 27 | 5 | 6 | 13 catches for 134 yards, 0 td, & 1 rush for -11 yards and 0 td | Atlanta Falcons / 7th / 179th pick / 1978 |
| LT | Dave Studdard | 28 | 4 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | Baltimore Colts / 9th / 245th pick / 1978 |
| LG | Keith Bishop | 26 | 3 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | Denver Broncos / 6th / 157th pick / 1980 |
| C | Bill Bryan | 28 | 6 | 16 | Denver Broncos / 4th / 101st pick / 1977 |
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| RG | Paul Howard | 33 | 10 | 14 | Denver Broncos / 3rd / 54th pick / 1973 |
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| RT | Ken Lanier | 24 | 2 | 16 | Denver Broncos / 5th / 125th pick / 1981 |
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| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Barney Chavous | 32 | 10 | 13 | 4.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 36th pick / 1973 |
| NT | Rubin Carter | 31 | 8 | 15 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | Denver Broncos / 5th / 121st pick / 1975 |
| RDE | Rulon Jones | 25 | 3 | 12 | 4.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1980 |
| LOLB | Jim Ryan | 26 | 4 | 12 | 0.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | |
| LILB | Randy Gradishar* | 31 | 9 | 16 | 2.5 sacks, 1 interception, 3 fumbles recovered | Denver Broncos / 1st / 14th pick / 1974 |
| RILB | Steve Busick | 25 | 2 | 15 | 2.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Denver Broncos / 7th / 181st pick / 1981 |
| ROLB | Tom Jackson | 32 | 10 | 15 | 5.5 sacks, 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | Denver Broncos / 4th / 88th pick / 1973 |
| LCB | Louis Wright* | 30 | 8 | 16 | 1.0 sacks, 6 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Denver Broncos / 1st / 17th pick / 1975 |
| RCB | Mike Harden | 25 | 3 | 15 | 0.0 sacks, 4 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | Denver Broncos / 5th / 131st pick / 1980 |
| SS | Dennis Smith | 24 | 2 | 13 | 5.0 sacks, 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Denver Broncos / 1st / 15th pick / 1981 |
| FS | Steve Foley | 30 | 7 | 13 | 0.0 sacks, 5 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Denver Broncos / 8th / 199th pick / 1975 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Rich Karlis | 24 | 1 | 0 | 21 of 25 field goals & 33 of 34 extra points | |
| P | Luke Prestridge | 27 | 4 | 0 | 87 punts for a 41.6 average, 0 blocked | Denver Broncos / 7th / 188th pick / 1979 |
| PR | Zach Thomas | 23 | Rook | 0 | 33 punt returns for a 11.2 average and 1 td | |
| KR | Zach Thomas | 23 | Rook | 0 | 28 kick returns for a 20.5 average and 0 td |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Baker | 23 | NT | 5 | 0 | 297 | 6-2 | Tulane | 3/6/1960 | Rook | |
| Dean Barnett | 26 | TE | 8 | 0 | 225 | 6-2 | UNLV | 6/6/1957 | Rook | |
| Keith Bishop | 26 | G-C | 16 | 16 | 260 | 6-3 | Baylor,Nebraska | 3/10/1957 | 3 | Denver Broncos / 6th / 157th pick / 1980 |
| Walt Bowyer | 23 | DE | 14 | 3 | 254 | 6-4 | Arizona State | 9/8/1960 | Rook | Denver Broncos / 10th / 254th pick / 1983 |
| Clay Brown | 25 | TE | 3 | 0 | 223 | 6-3 | BYU | 9/20/1958 | 1 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1981 |
| Bill Bryan | 28 | C-G | 16 | 16 | 251 | 6-2 | Duke | 6/21/1955 | 6 | Denver Broncos / 4th / 101st pick / 1977 |
| Steve Busick | 25 | LB | 16 | 15 | 227 | 6-4 | USC | 12/10/1958 | 2 | Denver Broncos / 7th / 181st pick / 1981 |
| Rubin Carter | 31 | NT-DT | 16 | 15 | 256 | 6-0 | Miami (FL) | 12/12/1952 | 8 | Denver Broncos / 5th / 121st pick / 1975 |
| Barney Chavous | 32 | DE-DT | 15 | 13 | 252 | 6-3 | South Carolina State | 3/22/1951 | 10 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 36th pick / 1973 |
| Darren Comeaux | 23 | LB | 14 | 0 | 227 | 6-1 | Arizona State | 4/15/1960 | 1 | |
| Mark Cooper | 23 | G-T | 10 | 2 | 270 | 6-5 | Miami (FL) | 2/14/1960 | Rook | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 31st pick / 1983 |
| Steve DeBerg | 29 | QB | 10 | 5 | 210 | 6-3 | San Jose State | 1/19/1954 | 5 | Dallas Cowboys / 10th / 275th pick / 1977 |
| Rick Dennison | 25 | LB | 16 | 1 | 220 | 6-3 | Colorado State | 6/22/1958 | 1 | |
| Myron Dupree | 22 | DB | 16 | 0 | 180 | 5-11 | North Carolina Central | 10/15/1961 | Rook | Denver Broncos / 7th / 172nd pick / 1983 |
| Ron Egloff | 28 | TE | 16 | 10 | 230 | 6-5 | Wisconsin | 10/3/1955 | 6 | |
| John Elway | 23 | QB | 11 | 10 | 215 | 6-3 | Stanford | 6/28/1960 | Rook | Baltimore Colts / 1st / 1st pick / 1983 |
| Steve Foley | 30 | DB | 14 | 13 | 189 | 6-2 | Tulane | 11/11/1953 | 7 | Denver Broncos / 8th / 199th pick / 1975 |
| Tom Glassic | 29 | G | 12 | 0 | 254 | 6-3 | Virginia | 4/17/1954 | 7 | Denver Broncos / 1st / 15th pick / 1976 |
| Randy Gradishar* | 31 | LB | 16 | 16 | 233 | 6-3 | Ohio State | 3/3/1952 | 9 | Denver Broncos / 1st / 14th pick / 1974 |
| Mike Harden | 25 | DB | 15 | 15 | 192 | 6-1 | Michigan | 2/16/1958 | 3 | Denver Broncos / 5th / 131st pick / 1980 |
| Shawn Hollingsworth | 22 | T | 5 | 0 | 260 | 6-2 | Angelo State (TX),New Mexico | 12/4/1961 | Rook | |
| Paul Howard | 33 | G | 16 | 14 | 260 | 6-3 | BYU | 9/12/1950 | 10 | Denver Broncos / 3rd / 54th pick / 1973 |
| Roger Jackson | 24 | DB | 16 | 3 | 186 | 6-0 | Bethune-Cookman | 2/28/1959 | 1 | |
| Tom Jackson | 32 | LB | 15 | 15 | 220 | 5-11 | Louisville | 4/4/1951 | 10 | Denver Broncos / 4th / 88th pick / 1973 |
| Rulon Jones | 25 | DE | 12 | 12 | 260 | 6-6 | Utah State | 3/25/1958 | 3 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1980 |
| Rich Karlis | 24 | K | 16 | 0 | 180 | 6-0 | Cincinnati | 5/23/1959 | 1 | |
| Gary Kubiak | 22 | QB | 4 | 1 | 192 | 6-0 | Texas A&M | 8/15/1961 | Rook | Denver Broncos / 8th / 197th pick / 1983 |
| Ken Lanier | 24 | T | 16 | 16 | 281 | 6-3 | Florida State | 7/8/1959 | 2 | Denver Broncos / 5th / 125th pick / 1981 |
| Don Latimer | 28 | NT | 12 | 3 | 259 | 6-3 | Miami (FL) | 3/1/1955 | 5 | Denver Broncos / 1st / 27th pick / 1978 |
| Rob Lytle | 29 | RB | 4 | 0 | 198 | 6-1 | Michigan | 11/12/1954 | 6 | Denver Broncos / 2nd / 45th pick / 1977 |
| Brison Manor | 31 | DE | 16 | 4 | 247 | 6-4 | Arkansas | 8/10/1952 | 6 | New York Jets / 15th / 380th pick / 1975 |
| Karl Mecklenburg | 23 | LB-DE | 16 | 0 | 240 | 6-3 | Augustana (SD),Minnesota | 9/1/1960 | Rook | Denver Broncos / 12th / 310th pick / 1983 |
| Wilbur Myers | 22 | DB | 16 | 0 | 195 | 5-11 | Delta State | 8/17/1961 | Rook | |
| Jesse Myles | 23 | RB | 16 | 0 | 210 | 5-10 | LSU | 9/28/1960 | Rook | |
| Riley Odoms | 33 | TE | 2 | 0 | 230 | 6-4 | Houston | 3/1/1950 | 11 | Denver Broncos / 1st / 5th pick / 1972 |
| Rick Parros | 25 | RB | 6 | 5 | 200 | 5-11 | Utah State | 6/14/1958 | 2 | Denver Broncos / 4th / 107th pick / 1980 |
| Nathan Poole | 27 | RB | 16 | 10 | 210 | 5-9 | Louisville | 12/17/1956 | 4 | Cincinnati Bengals / 10th / 250th pick / 1979 |
| Dave Preston | 28 | RB | 14 | 3 | 195 | 5-10 | Bowling Green | 5/29/1955 | 5 | New England Patriots / 12th / 333rd pick / 1977 |
| Luke Prestridge | 27 | P | 16 | 0 | 235 | 6-4 | Baylor | 9/17/1956 | 4 | Denver Broncos / 7th / 188th pick / 1979 |
| Jim Ryan | 26 | LB | 15 | 12 | 217 | 6-1 | William & Mary | 5/18/1957 | 4 | |
| Clint Sampson | 22 | WR | 16 | 2 | 183 | 5-11 | San Diego State | 1/4/1961 | Rook | Denver Broncos / 3rd / 60th pick / 1983 |
| John Sawyer | 30 | TE | 7 | 4 | 230 | 6-2 | Southern Miss | 7/26/1953 | 8 | Houston Oilers / 11th / 271st pick / 1975 |
| Dennis Smith | 24 | DB | 14 | 13 | 200 | 6-3 | USC | 2/3/1959 | 2 | Denver Broncos / 1st / 15th pick / 1981 |
| Rich Stachowski | 22 | NT | 14 | 0 | 245 | 6-4 | California | 3/29/1961 | Rook | |
| Dave Studdard | 28 | T-G-TE | 16 | 16 | 260 | 6-4 | Texas | 11/22/1955 | 4 | Baltimore Colts / 9th / 245th pick / 1978 |
| Bob Swenson | 30 | LB | 2 | 2 | 225 | 6-3 | California | 7/1/1953 | 8 | |
| Zach Thomas | 23 | WR | 16 | 0 | 182 | 6-0 | South Carolina State | 9/8/1960 | Rook | |
| Steve Trimble | 25 | DB | 5 | 1 | 181 | 5-10 | Maryland | 5/11/1958 | 2 | |
| Keith Uecker | 23 | T-G | 16 | 0 | 278 | 6-5 | Auburn | 6/20/1960 | 1 | Denver Broncos / 9th / 243rd pick / 1982 |
| Rick Upchurch | 31 | WR | 12 | 11 | 175 | 5-10 | Minnesota | 5/20/1952 | 8 | Denver Broncos / 4th / 95th pick / 1975 |
| Steve Watson | 26 | WR | 16 | 16 | 195 | 6-4 | Temple | 5/28/1957 | 4 | |
| Gerald Willhite | 24 | RB | 8 | 0 | 200 | 5-10 | San Jose State | 5/30/1959 | 1 | Denver Broncos / 1st / 21st pick / 1982 |
| Steve Wilson | 26 | DB-WR | 16 | 3 | 195 | 5-10 | Howard | 8/24/1957 | 4 | |
| Sammy Winder | 24 | RB | 14 | 13 | 203 | 5-11 | Southern Miss | 7/15/1959 | 1 | Denver Broncos / 5th / 131st pick / 1982 |
| Ken Woodard | 23 | LB | 16 | 1 | 218 | 6-1 | Tuskegee | 1/22/1960 | 1 | Denver Broncos / 10th / 274th pick / 1982 |
| James Wright | 27 | TE | 6 | 6 | 240 | 6-3 | TCU | 9/1/1956 | 5 | Atlanta Falcons / 7th / 179th pick / 1978 |
| Louis Wright* | 30 | DB | 16 | 16 | 200 | 6-2 | Arizona State,San Jose State | 1/31/1953 | 8 | Denver Broncos / 1st / 17th pick / 1975 |
| Team Total | 26.2 | 16 | 223.7 | 6-1.7 | 3.5 |