ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Once again the Denver Broncos have won the AFC West -- that’s four consecutive years now. Once again, some high-profile free agents have had leading roles in that, players like quarterback Peyton Manning, defensive end DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward.

But then again, stare a little more at the depth chart and the benefits of finding those who fit, those who, as John Elway puts it, “know and understand the culture we want with the Denver Broncos" become clear.

The Broncos' leading rusher, C.J. Anderson, is a player who arrived as an undrafted rookie in 2013. The current starting middle linebacker, Steven Johnson, arrived as an undrafted rookie in 2012.

Cornerback Chris Harris Jr., who just signed a five-year, $42.5 million extension to stay with the team, is among the league’s elite at his position and he arrived as an undrafted rookie in 2011. All are examples of the ability to not only draft depth and impact in the salary-cap era, but to add to that when the draft has concluded each year, as well.

It was something Elway addressed when offering that Harris was one of their top targets among the list of impending free agents.

“It’s the same old adage that we say every year is that it doesn’t matter where you’re drafted or how you get here," Elway said. “The bottom line is -- hopefully we can coach them -- but the bottom line is it comes from the player. It comes from the player from inside out and what he can do as a player."

And Johnson, Anderson and Harris all flashed that inner fire when they arrived, not so much wide-eyed, but full of hope and confidence. Elway said he could see in the first two days of Harris' first training camp -- it was Elway’s first training camp as the team’s top football decision-maker -- the cornerback had designs on making the roster.

“I can still remember the first time we took the field, and the first two practices, he stood out," Elway said. “And I said, ‘We have something here.'"

“You see football awareness, football character -- just the awareness more than anything regardless of what position," Broncos head coach John Fox said. “You see that very quickly, I think, as a football coach and you can definitely identify that with [Harris] immediately. You can’t define whether a guy is going to be a two-year starter or a Hall of Famer but you know he belongs. They are wired right and you could see that early on with Chris."

For his part Johnson made an immediate impact on special teams and always seems to be hovering near defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio or Fox to repeatedly tell them he’s ready to go into a game if they need him. So much so Del Rio has joked that “I never have to go looking for Stevie, he’s always right there."

“I just want to let them know I’m ready," Johnson said. “That they can trust me, that I stayed in the playbook and I’m ready to go."

For Anderson, who was in danger of losing his roster spot in minicamp because he had gained some weight and looked a little sluggish in some of the workouts, it was a matter of earning Manning’s trust, to be assignment reliable.

And after injuries to Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman, Anderson has provided the boost in the run game the Broncos were looking for down the stretch. He’s rushed for 597 yards in the past six games, or 87.9 percent of his season total (679), and is looking to hang on to the top spot on the depth chart moving forward.

In all, the Broncos have kept at least one undrafted rookie coming out of training camp, when the rosters go to 53 players, for 11 consecutive years.

“[The Broncos] have shown they will play undrafted guys if they end up being the best guys," Anderson said. “As a player you just want a chance, an opportunity. If you do the work, know your assignments and get results, they will play you."

“When I got here, in my first camp, Champ [Bailey] told me it didn’t matter if I was drafted or not. If I played, did it right, the Broncos would put me in," Harris said. “That’s how it should be."