Why the Denver Broncos drafted Garett Bolles in round one
Why did the Denver Broncos draft Garett Bolles in the first round? The answer is pretty simple, and it deals with who’s on the other side of the line….
Why did the Denver Broncos make Garett Bolles their top selection in the 2017 NFL Draft? There’s not a whole lot of mystery here:
— PFF (@PFF) May 21, 2017
What that graphic is showing you is that the AFC West wasn’t the most favorable to be a quarterback, finishing second to only the NFC West (by 0.1%) in pressure percentage per play. That means that nearly four out of 10 passing plays, AFC West quarterbacks were pressured by opposing defenses.
A pressure indicates that a quarterback was prematurely forced to get rid of the ball or flee the pocket.
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That is obviously a number the Broncos have worked to significantly decrease this offseason, signing guard Ronald Leary from the Cowboys and tackle Menelik Watson from the Raiders in addition to drafting Garett Bolles in the first round.
Facing the likes of Khalil Mack, Bruce Irvin, Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, Dee Ford, Joey Bosa, and Melvin Ingram forced the Broncos to make significant moves. That type of pressure on a per play basis was simply too much to have to deal with.
As a result of this intense pressure, Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch led an offense last year that was one of the worst in Denver Broncos’ history. Of course, the ball needs to leave the quarterback’s hand much quicker than it did at times last season, but the Broncos’ inability to properly protect the quarterback and push these defenders out of the way in the running game was inarguably the team’s greatest weakness going into the offseason.
The sources of those high percentage of pressures aren’t going away anytime soon. Life will continue to be tough for Broncos quarterbacks unless the offensive line steps up, and that’s why John Elway added the physical, nasty players he did this offseason.