Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
- 2,455
- 0
In our Broncos Legends series, we're revisiting the careers of some of the best players in franchise history with video highlights and rarely seen photos — and they'll join us to break down their favorite moments as a Bronco and more. Here's a refresher on linebacker John Mobley's time in Denver.
Career overview
John Mobley's path to the Broncos was unlikely, to say the least.
As a child, he lived with his father after his parents divorced, but when his dad suffered a debilitating stroke, he went to live with his mother, who wanted him to quit high school to help support their family, according to a 1996 Rocky Mountain News story. John couldn't accept that, and so he was forced to live on the street until the parents of some of his teammates took him in while he finished school.
Even though Mobley could have gone to a large university as a scholarship athlete, he stayed near home at Kutztown University. Even at the small school, Mobley became a special player — and not just on defense. After one game in 1995, he was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week. He had made 11 tackles, recorded three pass breakups, scored a rushing touchdown, returned a kickoff 69 yards and blocked a punt. In another, he made 17 tackles, forced and recovered one fumble, intercepted a pass, ran for two touchdowns and completed a pass for a two-point conversion.
By the end of his days at Kutztown, he had put together one of the finest careers in school history. Mobley was a first-team AP Little All-American in back-to-back seasons in 1994 and '95, and he earned first-team all-conference honors for each of his final three seasons at Kutztown. After his 1995 season, Mobley was named the PSAC Athlete of the Year.
With his college years behind him, a future in the NFL awaited the small-college star. He became the first Kutztown player invited to the Senior Bowl and immediately turned heads.
"The cash register just keeps ringing on that guy the more he plays out here," one scout said, the Charlotte Observer's Charles Chandler reported.
After recording five tackles in the game, Mobley earned some acclaim from Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson, who said, "I thought Mobley played extremely well. He was all over the football field."
Mobley's performance and his athletic gifts helped turn him into a tantalizing NFL Draft prospect. A month after the Senior Bowl, Adam Schefter projected Mobley as a second-round pick for the Broncos in a mock draft for the Rocky Mountain News.
Schefter got the team right, but he was 30 picks too late. Mobley had become such a hot prospect that he received an invitation to experience the Draft at Madison Square Garden in New York, but when the Broncos' No. 15 pick was announced, even Mobley was stunned.
"It came out of the blue and took me by storm," he told a USA TODAY reporter. "I was in the audience when the commissioner read my name. I had no idea the Broncos were even interested in me."
But head coach Mike Shanahan was smitten with him.
"[Mobley is] probably was one of the more impressive players that I've seen in a long time at that linebacker position," Shanahan said after the Draft.
In Denver, Mobley became an immediate starter. As a rookie, he recorded 61 tackles, an interception and 1.5 sacks. The previous season, the team ranked 15th in yards allowed; the Broncos ranked fourth in Mobley's first year.
"The young man has had an outstanding year, and their defense is vastly improved," then-Chargers head coach Bobby Ross said near the end of the 1996 season. "You can credit their free agent acquisitions Bill Romanowski and Jumpy Geathers and the rookie, Mobley, for that."
Mobley would only become more instrumental in his second season. He led the team in tackles with 132 — or 162 according to coaches' film review. The next closest player was 50 behind him. He also had four sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, an interception and a defensive touchdown. Yet, Mobley was snubbed for the Pro Bowl; one reporter for a newspaper in New York called Mobley "probably the most deserving player not to be selected to the Pro Bowl." Despite being overlooked for the Pro Bowl, Mobley earned first-team All-Pro honors instead.
As the Broncos marched to their first Super Bowl victory, Mobley came up with the play to clinch the game. With Brett Favre and the Packers hoping to conduct a game-tying drive in the final moments, the Broncos sent seven men blitzing to pressure Favre on fourth down. Mobley provided the necessary impeccable coverage and broke up the pass on fourth-down to send Denver's sideline into raucous celebration.
"What did I feel? Immediate jubilation," Mobley said after the game. "I think I just threw my arms up and started running up and down the field."
In Mobley's play, perhaps you could see the type of linebacker that become ideal — a sure tackler with a high football IQ who is athletic and fast enough to cover taller tight ends.
"It all came down to fourth-and-6, and I knew I had to make the play," Mobley said. "They set up with only three wides, so I knew he was going to try to get the ball to [TE Mark] Chmura. … I just stayed with him, waited for the ball, and then jumped on it."
Mobley added another ring a year later with the Broncos as they won back-to-back championships, and in the years that followed, he emerged as a top tackler for the team. By the team's tackling numbers based on coaches' film, Mobley led the team in the statistical category in four of the five seasons from 1997 through 2001.
Unfortunately, Mobley's career was cut short as he suffered a serious neck injury midway through the 2003 season.
Still, his career is an impressive one. In 2019, he was named one of the top 100 Broncos players in franchise history.