AP

As Broncos General Manager John Elway checks off his offseason shopping list, there’s no doubt who he’s thinking about.

Elway admitted after finishing his deal with wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders that the Patriots were in his mind with every move he made this offseason.

“You always know you have to go through New England. With their track record over the last 10 years, they’re a team you’re going to have to be able to deal with,” Elway said, via Lindsay Jones of USA Today. “For us to get done what we want to get done, you have to be able to beat them. It’s a fun arms race, and we’ll see what happens next year.”

The Patriots responded to losing to the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game by bringing in cornerback Darrelle Revis, but the Broncos have bought in bulk, stealing Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib along with defensive end DeMarcus Ware, safety T.J. Ward and Sanders.

“You have your wish list, and we’re fortunate enough, . . . we were able to X off a lot of guys off our wish list that were able to come here,” Elway said. “We want good football players that are going to be here for a long time. The basic [idea] is to get as young as we can with the best player we have.”

Of this offseason’s signings, only Ware is on the wrong side of 30. But as long as both teams hang onto their quarterbacks who are well into that decade, the effort to stockpile weapons around them will continue.