Bolles not perfect, but worthy of draft position
Garett Bolles was weeks away from his 25th birthday when the Broncos drafted him 20th overall last spring. With only a year of FBS experience, Bolles was an oversized kid with a grit on the field and eagerness off it. He was a father. He was a husband. He was the atypical first-rounder.
And he was exactly who the Broncos wanted as their left tackle.
“We just really thought that athletically, the way he plays the game, the mentality he brings to the game, he was in our mind the best left tackle in the draft,” general manager John Elway said then.
Bolles, a gentle giant with a mean streak, had no idea what he was in for then. Rookies rarely do, especially when thrown into the fire as a full-time starter on the offensive line.
But in the six months since he held his son, Kingston, on a stage in Philadelphia on draft night, donned his first Broncos hat while being introduced at the team’s training facility, and befriended the team’s star pass-rushers who would test him daily at practice, Bolles has more than earned his keep as a bona fide starter.
When Bolles debuted in the Broncos’ opener against the Chargers, he became the sixth rookie to start at left tackle for Denver since 1968, when lineups started being tracked. For two seasons the Broncos’ revolving door of tackles has spun with seemingly no end in the wake of Ryan Clady’s knee injury in 2015.
Though his career is young, Bolles has provided stability. In four games, he has played 93.2 percent of the offense, third-most on the line behind center Matt Paradis and right tackle Menelik Watson. Pro Football Focus grades Bolles as the 35th-best tackle in the league overall and tied for fourth in run-blocking, which is his strength.
“They drafted me for a reason, to come in here and bring something that the O-line was missing,” Bolles said. “They brought in Menelik (Watson) and they brought in Ron Leary, so we just
came in here and did what we needed to do.”
But perfect, he hasn’t been. He was never expected to be in Year 1.
“For a young lineman it’s always your assignment,” coach Vance Joseph said. “Fronts move at different pressures. He’s made some error with that, we all have. He’s gotten better with every game we’ve played. Again, it’s a lack of experience sometimes, seeing certain twists and certain pressure. As far as blocking his guy one-on-one, he can do that.”
Though the Broncos’ line collectively has struggled with pass protection, Bolles has allowed only one of the 13 sacks on quarterback Trevor Siemian, and 14 total pressures while facing some of the league’s elite rushers.
“I think just getting better every week. It’s not just one phase of it. We go against some great pass rushers, so he’s kind of learning how to play against each guy,” offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said. “He’s still learning, but he’s really doing a good job.”
In his first NFL game, Bolles was tasked with containing Los Angeles Chargers Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa. In Week 2, he took on the league’s current sack leader, Dallas’ DeMarcus Lawrence. In Week 3, he faced the Bills’ stout front seven that includes Jerry Hughes and Lorenzo Alexander. And in Week 4, he was introduced to Oakland’s reigning defensive player of the year, Khalil Mack.
The Broncos gifted Bolles with three months of facing Von Miller and, when healthy, Shane Ray in organized team activities and training camp. Bolles’ introduction to the NFL was also an introduction to the game’s toughest pass rusher.
In between one-on-one drills in camp, Miller would often take Bolles to the side to show him why and how he got beat, and to teach him hand technique and footwork.
“We drafted Garett Bolles, and after about a week of training camp he was our best pass protector, so he played,” Joseph said. “It was about him earning a job. Now if he wasn’t ready to play and wasn’t one of our best tackles, he wouldn’t be the starter. He was one of our better guys blocking Von and blocking those guys on our defense, which is a tough deal. He did a good job versus those guys, so we thought he could play. It’s panned out so far.”
The lessons were critical to Bolles’ NFL start. They were also part of the broader vision Elway and Joseph had in April, when they drafted a near-25-year-old tackle with limited experience but a mentality few could match.
“I don’t mess around,” Bolles said. “I came into the league a little older. A lot of people my age don’t have a wife and a kid, so that really helps me grow up. I listen and I listen carefully and do what I’m told and get the job done as best as I can.”