Denver Broncos: Options at left tackle beyond 2020

Left tackle Garett Bolles may not return to the Denver Broncos in 2021 or beyond. Who are some players that could replace him?

The Denver Broncos will potentially have a new left tackle in 2021 and beyond.

The team has declined Garett Bolles’ fifth-year option, creating a hole at the position beyond this season. Now they will need to figure out who they will replace him with.

Not too long ago, Broncos general manager John Elway said that Bolles would compete with Elijah Wilkinson to take over the job for the 2020 season. The team is clearly not as comfortable with Bolles as some may have thought, given his improvement over the course of the 2019 season.

Bolles has been criticized continuously and consistently since becoming a starter at left tackle for the Broncos. He has been called for a penalty in a lot of games during his career, to the point where it had become a surprise when his number was not announced by an NFL referee.

To be exact, Bolles has been called for twenty holding penalties, and nine false starts in his career.

Bolles seemed to have improved by the end of the 2019 season. The big differences had to have been the addition of Mike Munchak as the offensive line coach, as well as playing alongside left guard Dalton Risner.

The Broncos would have had to pay Bolles $11.064 million just for the option year. That right there is a big red flag, despite his improvements. The Broncos would be able to get his replacement for a cheaper annual contract.

As I mentioned, Elijah Wilkinson could be the guy that the Broncos choose to replace Bolles with after the season. However, Wilkinson will be an unrestricted free agent and the team will have to make a decision on him as well.

There are several left tackles that are currently scheduled to become free agents in 2021.

David Bakhtiari of the Green Bay Packers may be a solid choice to replace Bolles with. He allowed just two sacks in 2019. However, he was called for eleven penalties last season.

Alejandro Villanueva of the Pittsburgh Steelers would be the player I’d most like to sign. He played for Mike Munchak when both were in Pittsburgh. Villanueva had just seven penalties called against him in 2019.

He also gave up just two sacks last year.

The Broncos may also look at the NFL Draft next year to find their next starting left tackle. Depending on where they pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and whether or not they decide to go that route in the first round (which they probably should), their target should be Oregon’s Penei Sewell. In over 900 snaps as a sophomore in college, Sewell did not allow a single sack.

It will be interesting to see what direction the Denver Broncos go at the left tackle position in 2021. One thing is clear, though: left tackle is probably going to end up as their biggest need following the 2020 season.