Let us not forget, punters are people too.

In a position that rarely gets the credit it deserves, punters are often seen as the red-headed step child of every NFL roster. Their impact in a team’s success is often overlooked and seldom acknowledged.

Sure, punter Kyle Richardson might not have been the only reason for the success of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, but he certainly played an intricate role in helping that defense thrive by pinning opponents deep in their own territory. Punter Britton Colquitt, who quietly put together a tremendous season, was often lost in the shuffle for his part in helping the Broncos capture their third Super Bowl title in franchise history.

Although their position often lacks glamour and recognition, punters can almost single-handedly kill an opponents drive with a coffin-corner punt, or cover the blemish of an anemic and unproductive offense with a sky-rocketing blast that changes field position.

Broncos fans may always and forever remember names like John Elway, Tom Jackson, Karl Mecklenburg, and Terrell Davis, but we are here to give some kudos to the names that have flown under the radar. Lets take a look at some of the greatest punters in Broncos history.

5) Bucky Dilts (1977-1978)

Bucky…wait for it… Dilts.

Denver Broncos punter, or part of the Little Rascals gang?

He may have only spent two seasons in a Broncos uniform, but how can a name like that not be in the top five?

The left-footer out of the University of Georgia joined the Broncos in the summer of 1977. It was perfect timing.

“I was a free agent and had interest from about five teams,” Dilts told the Denver Post, “I wanted to come out west and see the country. When I arrived in Denver, I thought I was in the middle of nowhere. When I got to camp, I think there were 12 of us competing for one punting job.”

Dilts won the job and remembers just how special that 1977 Broncos team was.

“We just kept building momentum as the season went on,” said Dilts. “When we beat Oakland for the AFC championship, we turned to each other and nodded that we had something special going on.”

Although the Broncos were defeated soundly in Super Bowl XII by the Dallas Cowboys, the 1977 season put the “Cow Town” of Denver, Colorado on the map. As fullback Jon Keyworth put it, “It was as if Denver had its first born.”

Dilts finished his two-year Broncos stint with 186 punts for 7,019 yards, and even completed a 16-yard pass in the divisional round of the 1978 playoffs. He may not have posted jaw-dropping statistics, but Dilts was a part of one of the most memorable seasons in Broncos history and is well-deserving of the fifth-ranked spot.

4) Bill Van Heusen (1968 – 1976)

Before Bucky there was Bill.

How much has football changed in the last 50 years?

Currently the league minimum salary for player with no years of experience is $450 thousand, over 700 percent more than the average household income in the United States. When Bill Van Heusen joined the Broncos in 1968, he was making a piddling $12,000 per year. Granted, minimum wage was only a $1.60, a gallon of gas was just over a quarter, and Heusen was coming off a knee injury his senior year at the University of Maryland, but $12,000 per year was merely half of what the average NFL player was making.

Heusen joined his former collegiate head coach, Lou Saben, at a time when the Broncos already had a pretty good punter/wide receiver, Bob Scarpitto. But Heusen made a name for himself early in preseason with a 60-yard touchdown catch against the Kansas City Chiefs, which likely played a role in the coaching staff’s decision to ship Scarpitto out of town on the final day of training camp.

This began a nine year career with the Broncos where Heusen punted the ball a total of 574 times for 23,936 yards, a 41.7 yard average. Yet the most impressive part about Heusen’s time in Denver was his ability to eat up receiving yards with only a handful of opportunities. Heusen posted a whopping 1,684 receiving yards on only 82 receptions, averaging 20.5 yards per catch.

Heusen’s receiving / punting combo is what not only makes him the greatest Broncos player to wear jersey #42, but also the fourth ranked punter in Broncos history.

3) Mike Horan (1986 – 1992)

With an anticlimactic name that sounds less like a football player and more like the owner of an excavating company, Mike Horan played in one of the greatest eras in Broncos history.

Horan was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles before making his way to Denver a few short years later. He arrived just in time for the Broncos to put on the full-court press at the franchise’s first Super Bowl title behind the quarterback play of John Elway. In Horan’s first four seasons in Denver, the Broncos represented the AFC in the Super Bowl on three separate occasions. Unfortunately, the Broncos were beaten like a drum in all three to a combined score of 136-40, which left Horan on the field early and often.

Horan’s best season in a Denver uniform came in 1988 when he averaged 44 yards per punt on his way to his first and only Pro Bowl team selection. During his six seasons in the Mile High city, he averaged 42.5 yards per punt after posting 15,911 yards on 374 punts.

Finally, after bouncing around the league three more times, Horan got his long awaited Super Bowl ring when the St. Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans in one of the most exciting Super Bowls in NFL history. Horan finished his long and fruitful sixteen-year career with over 1,003 punts totaling 42,286 yards, and is tied with Mike Eischeid for most Super Bowl career punts with 17 total.

His long career and Super Bowl appearances make Horan the third greatest punter in Broncos history.

2) Britton Colquitt (2010 – Current)

Not only is Britton Colquitt a dedicated family man considering he forked over $1,800 for his newborn daughter to attend Super Bowl 50, but he also comes from a very prominent family of punters. Colquitt’s brother, Dustin Colquitt, is a Pro Bowl punter for the Kansas City Chiefs, which still seems to baffle Phil Simms every time they match up against each other. Their father, Craig Colquitt, spent a majority of his seven-year career in Pittsburgh where he won two Super Bowl rings.

Now Britton has a ring himself.

The undrafted punter out of the University of Tennessee was signed to the Broncos active roster after spending a mere week on the Miami Dolphins practice squad. Since his arrival in the Mile High City, the Broncos have made the playoffs in five of his six seasons, mostly thanks to a certain individual that wore #18.

Colquitt has used the thin air to post a career average of 45.2 yards per punt, the third best average in Broncos history. Not only does he get the ball out quickly and effectively, but he has also been fairly consistent and reliable during his Denver stint.

Even though Colquitt took a $1.4 million haircut to stay with the Broncos in 2015, his regular season performance was fairly poor as he only posted a 43.6 average with a 19 percent fair catch rate. However, he had a tremendous postseason as he placed nearly 40 percent of his punts inside the opponents 20-yard line.

His well-crafted postseason might have still left something to be desired as John Elway drafted punter Riley Dixon with the 228th pick of the 2016 NFL draft. It is likely that Colquitt’s days in Denver are numbered, but his performance throughout his career has left him as the second best punter in Broncos history.

1) Tom Rouen (1993 – 2001)

Colorado native, Tom Rouen spent a majority of his career with the Denver Broncos after winning a National Championship at the University of Colorado. Rouen is likely best known for his last minute punt to explosive returner, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, in the 1991 Orange Bowl. Ismail returned the punt 91 yards for a touchdown to give the Fighting Irish the lead, but had it called back due to a debatable clipping penalty. The Buffs held on and were awarded with a share of the 1990 National Championship.

As an undrafted free agent, Rouen spent a season playing in the World League of American Football before joining the Broncos in 1993. During his eight-year career in Denver, Rouen won two Super Bowl rings and posted 681 punts for 28,146 yards, the most in Broncos history.

Rouen might have a Super Bowl ring, but that is not even the most impressive hardware in his household. His wife, Amy Van Dyken, is a six-time Olympic Gold Metalist. After an ATV accident severed her spinal cord and left her paralyzed from the waist down, the Rouen family has showed us what true heroes look like as they have tackled this challenge with high-spirits, toughness, and tenacity.

A great punter, and seemingly even a better person, Rouen is the greatest punter in Broncos history.

Punters might not be the most recognized and acknowledged players on the football field, but they do play an important role on a roster. Thankfully, the Broncos have been blessed with some of the greatest punters in the history of the game.