Steve Atwater elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

[Miles]

"[It's] awesome," President of Football Operations/GM John Elway said. "Another Bronco getting in there, and especially a guy like Steve Atwater, who No. 1 is just a champ of a guy, but also now obviously a Hall of Fame football player. [I'm] so thrilled that he got in there, and [he's] another representative for the Broncos. We're getting more deserving guys in there. I'm really thrilled for Steve and his whole family that he was able to get in there."


Only 24 men in NFL history have been selected to at least eight Pro Bowls and started at least three Super Bowls. With Atwater's and Polamalu's election, 22 of the 24 are now members of the Hall of Fame. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are the other two, but they are both not yet eligible.


Best known for his punishing hit on Christian Okoye, Atwater changed the nature of the safety position.


"Steve Atwater's a beast, man," Hall of Famer Michael Irvin said Thursday. "Just flat out, he was a beast. And he came up, the way he played safety was the way you play safety. You did not want to get hit by Steve Atwater, man. We all remember the Christian Okoye play. Boom — in his tracks right there. That shows you the kind of hitter he is. Do I believe he's a Hall of Famer? I played against him in college, played against him in the NFL. Absolutely, Steve Atwater belongs with the gold jackets."


Atwater is just the second Broncos defender to be named to the Hall of Fame. Champ Bailey became the first in 2019 when he was inducted as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The Broncos are also represented in Canton by John Elway, Gary Zimmerman, Shannon Sharpe, Floyd Little, Terrell Davis and Pat Bowlen. Four of the eight have been elected since 2017.


Several other Hall of Famers, including safety Brian Dawkins, also have ties to the Broncos.


Atwater joins Elway, Sharpe and Davis as Hall of Famers from their Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII teams. Zimmerman also played in Super Bowl XXXII.


And while Atwater's place in NFL history was already unquestioned, his bronze bust will soon join the hundreds of other legends in Canton, Ohio.


That's certainly something to smile about.