ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Ring of Famer Rick Upchurch will proudly represent the Broncos at the 2015 NFL Draft, announcing the Broncos' second-round pick at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, 51 years years after the last time it hosted the event.
This is the fifth year that NFL legends from each of the league's 32 franchises will take the stage to make the second-round pick announcement.
Upchurch was a legendary kick returner for the Broncos, earning selections to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-Decade Team for the 1970s and the 1980s, as well as four Pro Bowl nods and three First-Team All-Pro selections.
"This is truly a blessing, first and foremost, and I am honored to be representing the Denver Broncos at the draft this year," Upchurch said in an interview on Wednesday. "I'm thankful that they would think of me in that way; I'll represent them very, very well."
View photos of the three Broncos that will be inducted into the team's Ring of Fame this year.
In addition to announcing the Broncos' second-round pick, Upchurch will partake in all the draft festivities, signing autographs, doing interviews and meeting his fellow legends from other teams in a "Legends Lounge," where he's excited to meet other great players and share stories that he jokingly described as "telling a bunch of lies and a little bit of the truth."
Upchurch, who was inducted into the Broncos' Ring of Fame last year in 2014, finished his career having either tied the NFL record in punts returned for a touchdown (eight) and broke the record for career punt return yardage (3,008).
"Just to have the opportunity to go and represent the Broncos means a lot and being inducted to the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame with the rest of the great ballplayers, it's truly an honor and I'm very thankful," he said. "...Any way I can use that to represent the Denver Broncos in a positive way, that's certainly what I'm going to do, and like I said, I'm truly honored and I'm very thankful."
Here are the legends representatives for each team:
Arizona Cardinals: Adrian Wilson
Atlanta Falcons: Todd McClure
Baltimore Ravens: Duane Starks
Buffalo Bills: Jim Kelly
Carolina Panthers: Pat Terrell
Chicago Bears: Dick Butkus
Cincinnati Bengals: Ickey Woods
Cleveland Browns: Hanford Dixon
Dallas Cowboys: Darren Woodson
Denver Broncos: Rick Upchurch
Detroit Lions: Chris Spielman
Green Bay Packers: Donald Driver
Houston Texans: Eric Brown
Indianapolis Colts: Bill Brooks
Jacksonville Jaguars: Greg Jones
Kansas City Chiefs: Gary Green
Miami Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Minnesota Vikings: E.J. Henderson
New England Patriots: Ty Law
New Orleans Saints: Jon Stinchcomb
New York Giants: Shaun Williams
New York Jets: Emerson Boozer
Oakland Raiders: Willie Brown
Philadelphia Eagles: Jon Runyan
Pittsburgh Steelers: Mel Blount
St. Louis Rams: Pisa Tinoisamoa
San Diego Chargers: Anthony Miller
San Francisco 49ers: Charles Haley
Seattle Seahawks: Kenny Easley
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mike Alstott
Tennessee Titans: Michael Roos
Washington Redskins: Brig Owens
