From Garett Holds to Pro Bolles: The meteoric rise of Broncos’ franchise left tackle

“Holding, offense, number 72, 10-yard penalty, repeat first down.”

“UGHHHHHHHH, %@&#!.” In Garett Bolles’ first two and a half years as the Denver Broncos starting left tackle, this two-word sentence perfectly encapsulated how most of Broncos Country felt about Bolles.

A 2017 first-round pick from Utah, Bolles was widely regarded as one of the top offensive line talents in the draft, with supreme athleticism. His biggest knock was how raw he was, but that did not stop the Broncos from pulling the trigger.

I remember watching the draft with one of my friends from college. We were studying for our accounting final the next day in our dormitory’s lounge area with the NFL draft playing in the background.

And I remember when Roger Goddell announced our selection; I was not thrilled, but I had no idea what kind of rollercoaster ride this 6-foot-5, 320-pound behemoth of a man was about to put us on.

Through 10 games in 2020, this rollercoaster has turned into a nice Sunday stroll downtown, and Broncos Country couldn’t be happier.

But many would wonder, why did it take until Bolles’ fourth year until he put it all together?

Does that even matter at this point?

The Denver Broncos seemed to have found their left tackle of the future, locking up Garett “Pro” Bolles to a 4-year, $68 million deal that will keep him through his age 32 season.  And given his elite level performance this year, it is easy to see why he is now among the top paid tackles in the league.

For the first time in his professional career, Garett “Pro” Bolles reaped the benefits of having the same offensive line coach in back-to-back seasons. Mike Munchak, even before coming to Denver, was and still is regarded as the best offensive line coach in the league.

His work with Bolles has not gone unnoticed, as Bolles has spoken very highly of not just Munchak, but the entire coaching staff, media personnel, and even the maintenance employees.

Bolles cited some of his struggles as relying on his athletic ability too much.  What does this mean, though?  In layman terms, Bolles was not prioritizing the technical side of his game enough, which yielded poor blocking.  We saw everything from slow feet, stiff hips, to poor hand placement through the years.  Bolles especially struggled against Khalil Mack last year against the Chicago Bears.

In his most recent press conference, Bolles told the media he decided to focus more on his technique instead of his athleticism.  Being an athletic tackle is still a huge advantage though, as it allows Bolles the ability to be quicker on his feet, and helps him when he pulls and has to block on a run play.

But as a professional athlete, relying on athleticism is not always the best route to go.  Prioritizing technique more has allowed Bolles to couple that with his athleticism, and the result is phenomenal.

He specifically cited focusing on the little things, and went on to say how he would take sets in his kitchen and have his wife pass rush him.  He also went on to say that he continually watches film to identify those little things, along with making sure his hands are set correctly, and mentioned a tactic that Munchak taught him, called “set, scan, spot.”

Listening to his recent presser told me that Bolles, in year four, has truly become a student of the game. Not only that, his appreciation for the entire organization, from John Elway down to the maintenance staff, is greatly noticeable.

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Many elite left tackles that Bolles is now in the same conversation with like Andrew Whitworth, Trent Williams, and David Bakhtiari were great when they first entered the league, and never truly experienced the struggles that Bolles did.

I think a lot of Broncos Country thought that since Bolles was a high draft pick and had a high ceiling, they expected him to piece it together quicker, which is understandable.  But everyone is different, and every player develops differently.

Broncos Country should be happy for Bolles, and happy that he finally put it all together, even though it was in his fourth year.  I’m sure having his fifth-year option declined helped motivate him, but either way, his performance will most definitely yield a Pro Bowl nod, and should yield an All-Pro designation.

Bolles is our franchise left tackle, and has a great opportunity to become one of the best that has ever played.