Denver Broncos HC Vic Fangio praises Garett Bolles

Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio took an opportunity to heap some praise on left tackle Garett Bolles, who has improved his play of late.

It’s been a tough year for Denver Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles.

The third-year player out of Utah has had 15 penalties this season, seven declined or offsetting, and has frustrated many in Broncos Country to the point that he was visibly covering his ears this past weekend after being booed by the fans for getting called for a holding penalty early against the Detroit Lions.

Bolles’ 15 penalties are unquestionably excessive, and his borderline weekly penalty since he came into the NFL is something that has been extremely frustrating for all parties involved, but Bolles’ recent stretch of play seems to indicate that the coaching he’s receiving from Mike Munchak is starting to take.

Bolles has been much cleaner in pass protection, and as a matter of fact, in two of the four games Drew Lock has started over the last month, the rookie QB has not been sacked at all.

That’s not all Garett Bolles’ doing, but he’s certainly been the most consistent player on the Broncos’ offensive line this year in terms of availability, which Vic Fangio took the time to commend on Thursday.

The Broncos stuck with Bolles through his darkest of days, which really seemed to come to a head against the Kansas City Chiefs in Denver back in October. I can’t recall the fan base being as upset with Bolles as we collectively were than after that game, and pretty much everyone at that point was wondering out loud whether or not the alternatives on the Broncos’ roster — no matter how inexperienced — could be any worse than Bolles.

Sure enough, the Broncos’ patience with Bolles has paid off, at least a little bit. He’s playing cleaner lately, and he’s certainly more consistent. Not only that, but Bolles is really strong in the running game most of the time as well.

The Broncos have a big decision to make regarding Bolles at the end of the season. It seems unlikely at this point the team will pick up his fifth-year option in March, but Bolles has shown enough improvement this year that the Broncos may not force an offensive tackle with their top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

They would still be wise to invest in a tackle or two in the NFL Draft, sometime in the first couple of days, but the Broncos should not feel forced in any way and Bolles’ play is partially to thank for that.

This is a situation where the Broncos should certainly proceed with cautious optimism but Fangio’s comments coupled with Bolles’ recent play seem to indicate the Broncos are pleased with the way he’s responded to coaching this year and they are undoubtedly pleased that he has not missed practices or game time due to injury.