NFL Reporter
By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63
Year after year after year, former Denver Bronco safety Steve Atwater has been denied recognition in the ProFootball Hall of Fame. After waiting 16 years, Atwater will finally be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2020.
It’s hard to believe it took this long for Atwater to be recognized for the tremendous player that he was in the NFL. It’s even more surprising that a free safety with such power and impact on a Super Bowl caliber team was denied for so long.
Atwater started as an option style quarterback in high school but upon arriving at the University of Arkansas, was moved to safety. Atwater loved being a Razorback and was the all-time leader in interceptions with 14. It was at the 1989 East-West Shrine Game where his stock rose after he had 2 interceptions and was named defensive most valuable player. He was later inducted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 1998.
With the 20th pick in the first round of the 1989 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos traded down with the Cleveland Browns who selected running back/wide receiver Eric Metcalf with the Bronco’s 13th overall pick. (No relation to wide receiver D.K. Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks.)
Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips loved playing Atwater closer to the line of scrimmage, acting more like a linebacker and shoring up the Bronco’s run-stop defense. In Atwater’s rookie season he finished the season with 129 tackles.
Steve Atwater attacks the challenge of getting more Broncos into the Hall of Fame like it’s Christian Okoye https://t.co/zoCWFsQvaZ pic.twitter.com/V2VEOlcRU9
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 7, 2020
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From then on, Atwater had seven straight Pro Bowl selections. He was tied for the most in Denver franchise history, with eight total appearances. However, if you are a Denver Bronco fan the sight of Atwater colliding with Kansas City Chief running back Christian Okoye in 1990, earning him the nickname the “Nigerian Nightmare”, is what you remember most. Okoye weighed in at 260 pounds, while Atwater stood at 6′ 3″ and 218 pounds of sheer muscle. Okoye hit a brick wall, and the wall won.
Hall of Famer John Elway described Atwater this way: “What made him is he could play in the passing game and also come up and support in the run game and be punishing in the run game. The mentality that he brought when people played us, the physicality that he brought, was intimidating for other teams. Plus, you look at his size and how big he was, he was an intimidator. He was the Silent Assassin because he was such a nice guy, as you know. But when you got him on the football field, he was very physical.”
His greatest career game was in Super Bowl XXXII where he was a force to be reckoned with. He finished the game with six solo tackles, one sack, two passes deflected, and a forced fumble. When the game was tied in the fourth quarter, the Green Bay Packers were 3rd and 8. Atwater deflects a pass on a blitz play, forcing the Packers to punt. Atwater proceeded to put the nail in the coffin when he hit wide receiver Robert Brooks with a vicious hit that almost created a domino effect.
Atwater left the Broncos in 1998 and signed with the New York Jets as a free agent in 1999. It was his final season and later that year, he retired a Bronco. Steve Atwater played in 155 consecutive games with the Broncos and was inducted to the Broncos’ Ring of Fame in 2005.
In total, Atwater had 1,074 tackles, five sacks, eight forced fumbles, seven fumbles recovered, 24 interceptions for a total of 408 yards, 58 passes deflected, and one career touchdown.
The Silent Assassin can now enjoy his rewards!
Welcome, Steve Atwater to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2020!
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