When you tell the history of the Denver Broncos, there’s no doubt that Broncos Country is remiss to not mention one of the legends in the franchise’s history: former wide receiver Rod Smith.
That’s what makes Smith a part of the Broncos’ Ring of Honor as the team’s 23rd member. Now, current Broncos WR Tim Patrick is calling for Smith to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Not a bad take.
Over the weekend on Twitter, Patrick wrote, “[Smith’s] jersey needs to be retired, and he needs to be in the Hall Of Fame” while quote tweeting a video posted by the Broncos’ official Twitter account. In the original tweet, the team posted a highlight video of Smith.
Fans remember Smith as a generational receiver that played with two of the Broncos’ best quarterbacks in franchise history: John Elway and Jake Plummer. Smith’s final season, 2006, is one in which he helped mentor his alpha x receiver replacement in Brandon Marshall and one in which the team failed to capitalize on their AFC Championship appearance the year prior.
The start of the end of the Mike Shanahan era, 2006 was the first of three seasons of no playoff appearances. Next thing you know, Josh McDaniels destroyed the offense in 2009 until Elway returned in 2012 to save the day once again.
Smith totaled six straight 1,000-yard seasons and eight such seasons total. That includes a nine-year stretch of at least 70 receptions and/or a thousand-plus receiving yards. He had back-to-back 100-plus reception seasons in 2000 and 2001 as well. This was during the establish-the-run era of football, not the pass-centric modern game we’re in now.
Check out Smith’s stats here, and Patrick’s quote tweet below.
Jersey needs to be retired, and he needs to be in the Hall Of Fame!! https://t.co/SI6dXSrdZM
— Tim Patrick (@Tpstreets) May 15, 2022
