Broncos DE Derek Wolfe: Enough ‘humble pie,’ ‘I’m full on that’

Derek Wolfe doesn’t wear his Super Bowl 50 ring. He’ll wear it when he’s retired, he says.

The Denver Broncos defensive end, filling in on “Stokley and Zach” on Wednesday, said, for him, one is just not enough.

“I want more. I need more. I need more rings. I need more trophies. I need another championship,” Wolfe said. “After you’ve had one, it’s like a drug, you just need more.”

And Wolfe said that lust for another world championship is only fueled by the winning culture that’d developed among the Broncos organization over the years.

“We might have had a losing season, but that culture is still there,” Wolfe said. “When I walk into the building every day I still see three Super Bowl trophies. I want more.”

So, after a historically bad season for Denver, Wolfe’s ready to get up off the mat and believes the team can go from the “coldest of cold to the hottest of hot.”

“Humble pie is good for everybody. And, we got it. We got that humble pie. I’m full. I’m good on that. Let’s go,” Wolfe said. “Let’s get that confidence back, and let’s get that demeanor back where nobody’s going to push us around.”

“Adversity,” Wolfe said, is supposed to make people stronger, which is a quality he sees in the Broncos newest starting quarterback Case Keenum.

Until last season, Keenum had a middling career in terms of statistical success. After being signed as an undrafted college free agent by the Texans in 2012, Keenum bounced around the NFL — from Houston to St. Louis and Los Angeles with the Rams to Minnesota last season.

In his first four seasons as a pro, Keenum started 15 games for the Texans and Rams, earning a 5-10 record.

But, building off a 4-5 record in 2016 in nine starts, the now-veteran journeyman quarterback went 11-3 in 14 starts for the Vikings in 2017, taking Minnesota to the NFC championship.

“He’s a football player. He’s a competitor. He’s going to do whatever it takes to win,” Wolfe said. “Just talking to him the little bit that I have, that’s what I get from him. He’s like, ‘Man, I just want to earn your guy’s respect.’”

And because the Broncos opted to sign Keenum to a two-year deal this offseason, Wolfe thinks using the team’s No. 5 pick in this year’s NFL Draft on a quarterback is a mistake.

“I feel like a quarterback is not the right decision,” Wolfe said. “If we didn’t just pick one up in free agency, then I can understand their direction. But, why would we go get a quarterback …”

Wolfe said he trusts general manager John Elway, that he’s smart and wouldn’t take a quarterback if he doesn’t have a plan.

But the defensive end pushed for Denver to pick up a piece that could make the team better right now, like running back Saquon Barkley — whom he called a “freak” — or offensive guard Quenton Nelson.

“But, who knows? He might draft a linebacker,” Wolfe said. “You never know.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.