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Denver Broncos: Garett Bolles appears to be in the clear following draft

By Travis Wakeman

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 29: Offensive tackle Garett Bolles #72 of the Denver Broncos stands on the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars before the game at Empower Field at Mile High on September 29, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Jaguars defeated the Broncos 26-24. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 29: Offensive tackle Garett Bolles #72 of the Denver Broncos stands on the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars before the game at Empower Field at Mile High on September 29, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Jaguars defeated the Broncos 26-24. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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The 2020 NFL draft is in the rearview mirror and the Denver Broncos did not draft a single offensive tackle.

The Broncos did draft Lloyd Cushenberry and Netane Muti, who will likely play center and guard, respectively. But the team decided to stick with what it has at the tackle spots, surprising many who even thought offensive tackle could be targeted in round one.

Since being selected in the first round of the 2017 draft, Bolles has been seen by many as a colossal bust.

When you watch a Broncos game and you see a yellow flag fly from the hands of one of the officials for holding, you can almost predict that the call is going against No. 72 of the Broncos.

In 2018, Bolles was called for holding nine times. Last season, that number jumped up to 13 holding penalties, which is almost one per game. That just doesn’t cut it at the professional level.

But Bolles has gotten better at certain aspects of the game and did look much better when Drew Lock was the starting quarterback. During those five starts, Bolles was called for holding just one time. That came in the first quarter of a December game against the Detroit Lions.

He was called for a total of just three penalties in those games, adding an illegal block above the waist penalty as well as one for unnecessary roughness.

On top of that, he has made himself available. He has started in all 48 games of his three-year career to this point. Being available is not something that the team’s other tackle, Ja’Wuan James, can claim.

So there are some things to work with in regards to Bolles, bad penalties aside.

If the Broncos saw the tackle spot as a major weakness, they wouldn’t have drafted a wide receiver in the first two rounds. Austin Jackson, Isaiah Wilson, Ezra Cleveland and Josh Jones are all guys that the Broncos could have drafted.

For that matter, they likely could have traded with the San Francisco 49ers to come up to No. 13 in the first round to draft Tristan Wirfs the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did.

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Some thought it would be unbelievable for the Broncos to go into the season with Bolles as the starting left tackle, but it looks like that is exactly what is going to happen. Sure, a guy like Elijah Wilkinson could end up beating him out, but the point is, the team didn’t draft someone in desperation to replace him.

Perhaps John Elway spoke with his offensive line coach, Mike Munchak, who happens to be one of the more respected position coaches in the entire league, and he told him that the team is just fine with Bolles. Maybe Munchak feels that Bolles is just starting to turn the corner?

There’s plenty of negative things that Broncos fans can (and will) say about Bolles, but the fact that the Broncos did not take an offensive tackle, particularly in the first two rounds when they instead drafted two wide receivers, speaks volumes.

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