Denver and Carolina gambled on free agents ... and it worked

— -- The Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers will meet in Super Bowl 50, but both of their paths can be traced back to early 2011. On Jan. 5 of that year, the Broncos made John Elway their executive vice president of football operations. One of his first moves was hiring coach John Fox, who had been in Carolina for nine seasons. The Panthers moved on by hiring Ron Rivera, a first-time head coach in the NFL with a similar defensive background.

In the 2011 draft, Carolina selected quarterback Cam Newton with the No. 1 overall pick. The Broncos followed that by taking linebacker Von Miller second overall. Much work was to be done, but both teams had a franchise player to build around now with a vision for the future.

Carolina's progress was slower, while Elway expedited Denver's comeback by landing arguably the biggest fish to ever hit the free-agency pond: Peyton Manning. With Manning able to play at his usual MVP level, he elevated Denver's solid offensive cast into a top unit and Fox's improved defense made the Broncos an instant Super Bowl contender. Elway continued to make big splashes in free agency while bolstering the defense with high draft picks. Denver has started its past four drafts with Derek Wolfe (2012), Sylvester Williams (2013), Bradley Roby (2014) and Shane Ray (2015).

With expectations that Manning can make the offensive players better, the defense had a great mixture of young players and signed veteran talent such as Aqib Talib, DeMarcus Ware and T.J. Ward. The results this year have culminated in the best defense in the league. But we know spending in free agency is rarely a good path to the Super Bowl. Just ask the Miami Dolphins of recent years.

However, Denver is in the big game for the second time in three years despite getting 45.9 percent of its 2015 regular-season snaps from free agents. That is the highest percentage of any Super Bowl team in the past decade (see chart below). We looked only at offensive and defensive snaps because teams rarely use free agency to spend foolishly on special teams.

Note: Undrafted free agents debuting with these teams are not included in the numbers above, so Chris Harris Jr. and C.J. Anderson are not part of Denver's 45.9 percent.

Maybe the most surprising result is that Carolina ranks second. While the Broncos have a star-studded lineup, most people know Newton as the star in Carolina. However, this roster did have six first-team All-Pro selections this year. Carolina has been nowhere near as flashy as Denver's spending sprees, but this team has still used means other than the draft very well to build a roster that has gone 17-1 to reach the Super Bowl. Here are the most influential free agents on both teams.  

Denver's big budget

Manning's Indianapolis teams had the lowest rate of free agents of any Super Bowl team since 2006, as Bill Polian relied so heavily on building through the draft. Elway has really built around Manning as his centerpiece to add great talent that could win right away. The Broncos became a much more attractive spot for free agents when they could be sold on a Hall of Fame quarterback instead of hoping for the latest Tim Tebow miracle win.

Emmanuel Sanders was content with leaving Pittsburgh because he could go to Denver to play with Manning in "wide receiver heaven," as he called it. Sanders was outstanding in 2014, but of course this year has been different with an aging Manning not providing the same efficiency. At least right guard Louis Vasquez, another great signing in 2013, is still allowing for some stability on an offensive line that has played a lot of different combinations the past few years.

Offensive line may be Denver's undoing in the Super Bowl, but you cannot say Elway did not have a plan there. This team unfortunately lost Ryan Clady and rookie Ty Sambrailo for the season to injuries. Evan Mathis was a good signing late into the preseason, and he is back to starting at left guard. There were even stories at the trade deadline that Elway was trying to land Cleveland left tackle Joe Thomas, which would have been an incredible addition. You just wonder how Denver makes the cap work with all of these players, but there has always been an urgency to win now with Manning's window closing.

The 2013 Broncos are fourth on the list as that team had some free-agent splashes such as signing Wes Welker away from New England and having Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie at cornerback. Denver had the infamous fax fiasco in 2013 when it lost Elvis Dumervil to Baltimore, but Shaun Phillips proved to be a solid stopgap with 10 sacks. Ware was even better last year, and Ward promised to help fans forget the memory of Rahim Moore trying to play the deep ball against Jacoby Jones in the playoffs. Talib makes for a great cornerback duo with Chris Harris Jr., an undrafted free agent from 2011 who has blossomed into one of the game's best.

But the continued postseason disappointments were too much for Elway to stomach. Fox was fired after 2014 and Elway was able to bring in old friend Gary Kubiak, his backup quarterback and offensive coordinator in Denver. That move was made even before Manning had committed to come back for the 2015 season. But no move was bigger than bringing back Wade Phillips to run this talented defense. Sunday may have been his masterpiece in hitting Tom Brady 20 times and shutting down a high-powered New England attack. Miller and Ware's dominance shined through, as did the league's best trio of cornerbacks. Safety Darian Stewart, another noteworthy veteran signing this year, had an interception in the second quarter.

You have to give the Broncos credit for doing whatever it takes to win it all. Not every move is going to work out. The trade for Vernon Davis has been a bit of a dud. However, even after a season of struggling, tight end Owen Daniels came up with two huge touchdown catches from Manning in Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

With Phillips masterminding the defense and Kubiak helping to convert Old Manning to a game-manager role, the Broncos may have just enough to piece everything together for one more win to earn that elusive title.

Carolina's low-key moves

Most fans would struggle to name Carolina's main free agents, because they are not the big-money signings you see in the first days of free agency each March. Some of these players also have been part of the plan in Carolina for several years now.

Fullback Mike Tolbert was a criticized free-agent signing from San Diego in 2012. The Panthers already were paying good money to DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Why did they need another back? His value was meant for the short-yardage touchdowns to protect Newton's health, but since 2012, Tolbert has 13 touchdown runs compared with 29 for Newton. Oh well. Tolbert has still been a two-time first-team All-Pro, as the Panthers utilize him at fullback in unique ways.

Ted Ginn Jr. is actually in his second stint with Carolina after playing for the Panthers in 2013. This time his role has expanded to the No. 1 receiver because of  Kelvin Benjamin's torn ACL in the offseason. Ginn responded well with a career-high 10 receiving touchdowns. He may not have reliable hands (7.4 percent drop rate, tied for fourth highest among WRs), but he is athletic enough to consistently get open. Jerricho Cotchery is a reliable receiver and was a good depth pickup for this offense, which also utilizes a lot of two tight ends with Ed Dickson (ex-Raven) playing 598 offensive snaps this season.

Carolina also has scraped together a solid offensive line with Michael Oher -- yes, "The Blind Side" has protected Newton's blind side all year -- and Michael Remmers as the starting tackles. Remmers actually got his start in Denver in 2012, but was cut in the preseason and bounced around with four more teams before the Panthers claimed him in 2014. These tackles could be Carolina's downfall against Miller and Ware, but this is what Carolina has rolled with all season.

Rivera's defense led the turnaround in Carolina, and that is one area where the Panthers do not differ much from the Broncos in their building philosophies. Luke Kuechly, Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short were all high draft picks in 2012-13. Kuechly has had an incredible start to his career (and postseason), while Short broke out this season with 11 sacks. Add in this year's emergence of cornerback Josh Norman, a fifth-round pick in 2012, and the Panthers have a great young player at each level of the defense to go along with veteran linebacker Thomas Davis in the middle.

The Panthers brought in some big-name veterans this year, but unfortunately they are injured now with Charles Tillman on IR and Jared Allen's status up in the air for the Super Bowl. The safety position has been held down by Roman Harper and Kurt Coleman, who combined for 1,969 snaps for Carolina as free agents this year.

One of these teams is going to complete its five-year path to a Super Bowl. While these are unconventional paths, it is hard to argue with smart coaches putting talented players, no matter how they were acquired, in the best position to succeed.