Year after year, Randy Gradishar was passed over for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And his former Broncos teammate Karl Mecklenburg was bewildered.
“I felt like if he’s not in the Hall of Fame, how in the heck am I ever going to get in?’’ Mecklenburg, who turns 64 Sunday, told The Denver Gazette.
After waiting 35 years, Gradishar, who played for Denver from 1974-83, finally was elected this year to the Hall of Fame. Mecklenburg, a Broncos linebacker from 1983-94, was thrilled for his good friend and he went to his Aug. 3 enshrinement in Canton, Ohio.
Now there might be more focus on how long Mecklenburg has been waiting for possible induction into the Hall. He first became eligible in 2000.
“Maybe I’ve moved up the line a little bit,’’ Mecklenburg said of Gradishar finally having been inducted.
During his 12 seasons with the Broncos, Mecklenburg made six Pro Bowls, was named first-time All-Pro three times and played in three Super Bowls, although the Broncos lost them all. Does he think he has Hall of Fame credentials?
“Sure,’’ he said. “I did something nobody else has done in the NFL. I played seven different positions.”
During his career, Mecklenburg in Denver’s 3-4 scheme played all four linebacker positions and all three spots on the defensive line. While he got most of his snaps at inside linebacker, legendary defensive coordinator Joe Collier, who died in May, moved Mecklenburg around with great effectiveness.
“He used me as a jack of all trades, and that confused blocking combinations,’’ Mecklenburg said of Collier, his defensive coordinator his first six seasons. “I don’t think that will be done again, asking one guy to know seven positions.”
Mecklenburg, known as the “Albino Rhino,’’ was a terror on defense. He had 13 sacks in 1985 and four overall seasons of nine or more. He also was very effective in defending receivers and in stopping the run.
“He’s a Hall of Fame candidate,’’ said Rick Gosselin, who long has been on the 50-person Hall of Fame selection committee and on the senior committee. “I think he needs to be discussed. He excelled at all seven spots. I think he was a special player. He was a headache to the offense. He was such a versatile player.”
Mecklenburg was one of 26 modern-era semifinalists for the Hall of Fame in 2017 but did not reach the finalist stage. Players become eligible to be considered by the senior committee after they have been retired for 25 years, so that became Mecklenburg’s only possible route to the Hall starting with the class of 2020.
The senior committee will meet in October and name three finalists by the end of the month. However, rule changes that were announced earlier this month will make it more difficult for a senior candidate to ultimately make the Hall of Fame.
Previously three senior finalists and one coach/contributor candidate were named, and each was voted on a yes-no ballot, with 80% needed for enshrinement. Now, there still will be three senior finalists but there will be one coach finalist and one contributor finalist. Those five will be voted upon on separate yes-no ballots, with 80% needed for induction, but a maximum of three can be selected in any one year.
“There’s a lot of outside things you can do to bump you up in their eyes (of the selectors), but I’ve never done those things,’’ said the modest Mecklenburg. “I’m not going be a reporter or go on television. That was the thing with Randy, too. He was not somebody who was a self-promoter.”
Mecklenburg, originally from Minnesota, was happy to see the Ohio native finally be inducted. The two were teammates only in 1983 but they grew even closer after that. Both have continued to live in the Denver area after retiring as players.
“It was special to see him go in,’’ Mecklenburg said. “Randy and I have developed a relationship way behind that one year of being teammates. We have similar backgrounds. We’re both Midwest guys and grew up with a work ethic that allowed us to have long careers. I was just thrilled to death to (by his induction).”
Now, Mecklenburg hopes there will be an additional similarity in both making it to the Hall of Fame after long waits.
Nix’s college debut recalled
Saturday marked the five-year anniversary of the epic college debut by Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
Starting as a true freshman on Aug. 31, 2019, in Arlington, Texas, Nix threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Seth Williams with 9 seconds left to give 16th-ranked Auburn a 27-21 win over No. 11 Oregon.
“It was one of those things that established his legacy,’’ said Gus Malzahn, who was then Auburn’s head coach and is now at Central Florida. “It was a big one, especially the way he won it at the end.”
Interestingly, Nix later would transfer to Oregon for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He was selected by Denver with the No. 12 pick in the April draft.
Nix next Sunday will make his NFL debut in Denver's opener at Seattle. He was named Denver’s starter by head coach Sean Payton after an impressive preseason, and Malzahn reached out then to offer Nix congratulations.
Taking over teams immediately has been a common occurrence for Nix. He also started immediately in high school as a ninth grader in 2015 for Scottsboro (Ala.) High.
Broncos blackout in Brazil
Broncos fans in Brazil might have to work a bit harder to get news on their favorite team.
There are a number of Broncos fans in Brazil, and plenty go to the X account @MileHighBrasil to get news on the team in Portuguese. The account has more than 5,000 followers.
But a feud in Brazil with owner Elon Musk led to X being blocked in Brazil on Saturday. Ana Luiza Figueiredo, a Brazil-based editor of Mile High Brasil, feels for Broncos fans in the country.
“It will certainly be tough on us not having X,’’ she said. “(Mile High Brasil) can bring the news as fast as possible to Broncos fans in Brazil.”
The account follows outlets in the U.S. that report on the Broncos. The news is then quickly translated into Portuguese, the primary language in Brazil.
It remains to be seen if the X blackout in Brazil will still be in effect when Green Bay and Philadelphia meet next Friday in the first NFL game in the country.
What I’m hearing
--When it comes to trying to get young players through waivers and onto the practice squad, the Broncos pay close attention to position groups. Tackle Frank Crum and running back Blake Watson made their initial 53-man roster as undrafted rookies in part because they play positions that could have made them attractive on the waiver wire to another team. Undrafted rookie inside linebacker Levelle Bailey also made the initial active roster before the Broncos waived him Thursday with the hope his position would play a role in him not being claimed. He wasn’t claimed Friday and agreed to join Denver’s practice squad.
--Wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey has a special relationship with Payton, his coach with New Orleans from 2019-21 and with Denver since last season. So, when the Broncos informed Humphrey last Tuesday, they would release him but wanted him for the practice squad, that didn’t bother him. Humphrey signed with the squad, and the Broncos plan to elevate him for the opener at Seattle. Humphrey spent last year on both the active roster and practice squad but got into all 17 games.
What I’m thinking
--When Nix takes the field against the Seahawks, he will become just the second Denver rookie quarterback to start an opener, following John Elway in 1983. But who was the first Broncos rookie signal caller to start a game? It was Mickey Slaughter on Sept. 29, 1963. Denver defeated the Boston Patriots 14-10 at Mile High Stadium, but Slaughter didn’t exactly tear it up, completing 7 of 18 passes for 109 yards with two interceptions and being sacked five times.
--The Broncos head back to Seattle for an opener two years after one of the lower moments in recent team history. On Sept 12, 2022, Monday Night Football. It marked the Broncos’ debut for head coach Nathaniel Hackett. With Denver down 17-16 and facing fourth-and-5 at the Seahawks 46 with 20 seconds left, he called for Brandon McManus to attempt a 64-yard field goal. It was wide left, and it was all downhill after that for Hackett, who was fired with two games left in the season.
What I’m seeing
--Denver has a solid starting offensive line. As for the reserves, the Broncos better hope they don’t have injuries. Of the four reserves on the 53-man roster, Matt Peart has seven career starts and Alex Palczewski, Alex Forsyth and Crum never have appeared in a regular-season game. The Broncos do have on the practice squad Calvin Throckmorton, who has 27 career starts. He would be a good candidate for some elevations.
--The Broncos have good depth at tight end, and it got even better when they signed veteran Donald Parham to the practice squad. They have a solid core on the active roster in Adam Trautman, Greg Dulcich, Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins. Parham, who surprisingly was released after four effective years with the Los Angeles Chargers, provides security if injury problems continue for Dulcich, who missed 22 games his first two seasons.
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