When Omar Bolden was drafted in 2012, the Denver Broncos had found early in the regular season a kick returner by the name of Trindon Holliday, who sort of stole the show and made any competition for either return position pretty much a non-argument.
With Holliday getting let go after the 2013 season, the Broncos needed to find a long-term replacement, and as of last year, it wasn’t overly apparent that they’d found one until Omar Bolden started returning kicks. Bolden, who spoke to Denver media on Friday, said the kick returner job is his and at this point in time, we have no reason not to believe him.
How could you argue with a guy that has this strong of a hat game?
Who's returning kicks for #Broncos in 2015?@Os_island says, "That is my job. I want it." [http://t.co/p9nruLd9TT] pic.twitter.com/N2IivRD037
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) May 30, 2015
While Bolden says the return job is his, it’s important that we have a basis of evidence to believe he deserves it. Here’s my case.
College
We all know about Bolden’s injury in his final year at Arizona State, but what about before that? Well, I’ll have you know he was an excellent return specialist for the Sun Devils.
Have a look for yourself.
Early Broncos Career
Bolden proved early on with the Broncos that he had some skills as a returner, he was just in a crowded competition and didn’t win the spot outright. Here’s a 103-yard burst against the Arizona Cardinals in a pre-season game from his rookie season in 2012.
In the 2012 season, Bolden ended up with 14 returns for 270 yards, a 19.3 yard per return average. Not exactly the best numbers. So, the Broncos found an upgrade, and Holliday made a household name for himself.
Recent Broncos Career
As of last year, Bolden was tearing it up as a return specialist for the Broncos. He had only 13 returns, but he averaged 33 yards per return and had a 76-yard return against the Raiders as well as a 77-yard return against the Bengals.
He finished with 10/13 returns going for more than 20 yards, and three for more than 40. Two of them obviously over 75.
He also finished with the 2nd highest Pro Football Focus grade among all kick returners, tied with Devin Hester. The sample size obviously wasn’t as large, but that’s worth noting.
Here’s his burst against the Bengals.
Get Bolden the ball. He says he wants to lead the league in return yards. Hopefully he does it on the least number of attempts possible.