Jury still out on Broncos’ Bolles
But much-maligned tackle has played considerably better
ENGLEWOOD — Through the chaos of the first quarter of the Broncos’ season — a slew of injuries, a 1-3 start and long odds at returning to the playoffs for the first time in five years— left tackle Garett Bolles has been a small ray of sunshine.
Perhaps the Broncos’ most maligned player since being drafted No. 20 overall in 2017, Bolles’ inconsistencies at left tackle through his first three seasons led to 45 penalties, lots of missed blocks and plenty of hometown boos. It also resulted in the Broncos declining the 28-year-old’s fifth-year contract option this off
season, setting Bolles up for a “prove-it” season in 2020.
So far, Bolles is doing just that. Per Denver Post game charting, through the first four games, Bolles has allowed five disruptions (no sacks, five knockdowns and no pressures) along with 2½ “bad” run plays. He’s been penalized just twice, with one of those enforced, while playing on a $3.5 million salary.
That upward trend is a continuation from the second half of last season, when Bolles had 5 disruptions (no sacks, three knockdowns, two pressures) and 8 penalties after giving up 15 and nine in those respective categories over the first eight games.
Maybe, just maybe, the late football bloomer — Bolles only played one season at the FBS level after transferring to Utah from a junior college — is finally coming into his own.
“My zone is the ‘ G.B. zone,’” Bolles said before the season. “I just have to get better with myself. I have to be the best version of me.
As long as I do that I know where I can go, what I can do and what I’m capable of.”
The left tackle’s consistency this season is even more important amid the struggles of the offensive line as a group, which was dominated in two of three losses this year. The team’s quarterback carousel following Drew Lock’s shoulder injury in the first quarter of Week 2 hasn’t helped. But despite all that — and considering the season-ending leg injury to right tackle Elijah Wilkinson — Bolles is giving the Broncos’ front what it needs.
“He’s played well, and he’s played dinged up, too, ” coach Vic Fangio said after Denver’s Week 4 win against the Jets. “He’s got an elbow that’s bugging him and something else that’s bugging him and he’s fighting through it. I felt good about Garett coming into this season, and I remained in constant contact with him throughout the offseason and knew he was in a good spot mentally and emotionally. He was working out good and it was true when we finally got together in