Broncos greatest players of all-time: #21, cornerback Aqib Talib

Broncos greatest players of all-time: #21, cornerback Aqib Talib

The No Fly Zone.

While Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware were the anchors of that historic 2015 Super Bowl team, it was the secondary that locked it down for them. Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. were the greatest cornerback duo in Denver Broncos history. While the Super Bowl was the crowning achievement of that defense, for the No Fly Zone it was a Week 6 game against the undefeated Green Bay Packers that cemented their legacy.

Aaron Rodgers finished that game 14/22 for 77 yards. He threw no interceptions, but there was no opportunity to throw for much of anything that game. I still remember vividly a play where he scrambled around the pocket for seven seconds only to throw a duck to no one out of frustration. The No Fly Zone wouldn’t let a single player any openings.

As for Aqib Talib, he would play four seasons in Denver and in that time he would log just 11 interceptions. But he would return six of those for touchdowns. He was the type of player that defense needed to keep an edge in every single game.

Talib made the Pro Bowl in every season he was in Denver and was a first-team All-Pro in 2016. Perhaps that All-Pro status was helped along by his trophy collection from Michael Crabtree as can be seen from this infamous photo.

Many didn’t like Talib due to his brash attitude and often borderline dirty play, but he seemed to toe the line pretty well. He gave the Broncos’ secondary an edge it may not have had without him and without that edge does that 2015 team win a Super Bowl? I’m not convinced. That defense needed every single “dawg” they had that year to overcome an offense that was often disappointing that year.

I’m not surprising that Aqib Talib made this Top 50 list, but I was surprised we voted him as highly as we did. Perhaps there is a recent-bias there. While you may argue his final placement at #21 (fitting since it also happened to be his jersey number in Denver), you can’t argue his worthiness in that final Top 50.