Are the conditions finally right for Garett Bolles to move into the upper tier of NFL left tackles?" Denver Broncos Roster2019 Broncos roster review: Left tackle Garett BollesNew Joe Flacco Jersey ,57commentsAre the conditions finally right for Garett Bolles to move into the upper tier of NFL left tackles?MDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:2019 Broncos roster review: Left tackle Garett BollesTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Dustin Bradford/Getty ImagesAfter being drafted with the 20th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Garett Bolles has struggled to particularly in light of being the first offensive tackle drafted that year. His career will always be cast in comparison to Ryan Ramczyk, who was the second offensive tackle taken that year. Left tackle is one of the three or four most important positions on the team and to get a good one you either have to pay handsomely in the free agent market, or draft one. Did we draft a good one in Bolles? What does the data say?Garett Bolles ProfileHeight: 6’5”Weight: 297 lbsAge: 27Experience: 3rd yearThe Good Bolles has elite quickness for an offensive tackle and despite his struggles he has started every game in his two NFL seasons. For a man with very limited experience playing offensive tackle, he has learned quickly at acquitted himself well. His stats rank him in the middle of the pack in both his seasons, which is good for a relatively inexperienced player, but bad if you are the the first player from your position taken in the draft. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesAtlanta Falcons DE, TakkaristMcKinley, who was drafted 6 slots later in 2017 called Garett Bolles the best offensive tackle he faced in college. So we know the talent is there, we just need consistency. The Bad (and the stats)Bolles was bad enough that Mark Schlereth called for him to be benched at one point during last season, but let’s look at some performance data before we start screaming about benching him. I agree with Stink on many things, but I think he was wrong in his conclusion here. There are three parts to playing offensive line:Pass blocking- I list this first because 70% of all yards are gained through the air in the NFL.Run blocking Avoiding penaltiesBolles allowed pressure on 7.4% of his pass blocking snaps in 2017 as a rookie. That was 36th among starting offensive tackles (of which there are techincally 64). Unfortunately there were only 47 offensive tackles with 700 or more offensive snaps in 2017, so Bolles was much closer to the bottom (Breno Giacomini - 12.2%) than the top (David Bahktiari - 2.5%). The average among qualifying tackles that year was 6.1%, so Bolles was below average at pass blocking as a rookie. As a second year starter, Bolles improved his pass blocking allowing pressure on only 4.3% of his pass blocking snaps (16th of 57 qualifiers). That was a big jump and showed that he learned a great deal as a rookie. As this point he is probably still outside the top tier of NFL left tackles in terms of pass blocking, but there is great hope for his continued improvement (more on that later). Data from this is from Profootballfocus.com. Bolles had been good at run blocking according to FootballOutsiders.com during his rookie seeason. The Broncos were 9th in Adjusted Line Yards, ALY, when runinng behind left tackle in 2017. However, the Broncos were 27th in ALY when running behind left tackle in 2018. The Denver had the second smallest left tackle run frequency in the league in 2018 at 5.6%. OnlyWashington was lower at 4.9%. So if you trust PFF and FO, Bolles had been getting better at pass protection while getting worse at run blocking. How has he done on the penalty front? According to NFLPenlaties.com Bolles had 12 penalties called on him in 2017. That was the 3rd most among tackles with only Charles Leno (13) and Germaine Ifedi (16) having more called against them. Seven of Bolles penalties were holding penalties in 2017 as a rookie. That was tied for most in the league with Shon Coleman. As many of you might remember, most of those holding penalties were drive-killers. Bolles was only called for ten penalties in 2018 which was tied for 5th most among tackles. Seven of those were holding penalties which was tied for most in the league with Tyron Smith. Of those seven holding penalties two came in in the loss to the Ravens and another two came in the loss to the Chargers at the end of the season. He was only called for holding three times in the other 14 games.I’d say he improved in the penalty department in his second year in the league, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. Quotable Bolles discussing working with Mike Munchak. Mike Munchak talking about Garett Bolles. Munchak has a great track record of turning marginal offensive lineman into starters and turning decent offensive lineman in Pro-Bowlers. I’m hopeful he can do the latter with Bolles. Garett Bolles HighlightsIf you want to watch some college film on Bolles, here is the scouting report that Scotty put together after we drafted him, replete with film. Garett Bolles’ roster status with the BroncosAs a first round draft pick Bolles is under contract through the 2020 season and the team has the option to pick up his 5th year if they so choose. I see no situation where Bolles is not on the 53-man roster and I would be shocked if he played so poorly in training camp as to be benched; unless first round picks are complete busts (see Lynch, Paxton) teams don’t cut or trade them before their rookie deals expire. ENGLEWOOD Bradley Chubb Jersey White , Colo. (AP) — When the Denver Broncos signed Case Keenum to a two-year, $36 million deal last spring, they figured they were getting the quarterback who had led the Vikings to within one step of the Super Bowl.Instead, they’ve gotten the journeyman he was with the Texans and Rams.At least so far.Keenum’s eight interceptions are tied for the league lead and are one more than he threw in 15 games last year. He’s been especially turnover-prone in the red zone and he’s the only quarterback in the NFL who has thrown an interception in all six of his team’s games so far.Keenum’s 15 sacks put him on pace for 40, nearly double what he had last season or in 2016 when he served as Jared Goff’s tutor in Los Angeles.Last week, Broncos general manager John Elway gave Keenum a vote of confidence, saying on Orange & Blue 760, “I think that Case has done a nice job. It’s always an adjustment getting used to a new offense and a new coaching staff and what he’s used to. He’s provided leadership, he’s provided that grit.”Then, Elway hit the scouting trail, flying to Eugene, Oregon, with top personnel assistant Matt Russell to check out Ducks QB Justin Herbert, who is expected to be the top quarterback in the 2019 NFL draft if he leaves school after this season.Keenum acknowledged Tuesday that his adjustment has been a rocky one.“It’s tough,” Keenum said. “, three, four, 10 years. The guy who played last night (Packers star Aaron Rodgers) has been in that offense a while and you start to know it like the back of your hand. You have just seen so many different plays and so many defenses you know what tends to get open.”On the other hand, this is his “first time throwing with these guys,” said Keenum, quickly adding, “These are definitely not excuses. I’m not sitting here making excuses, but I think we’re getting better. That’s the goal, and it takes time.”The Broncos (2-4) have lost four straight heading into their game Thursday night at Arizona (1-5).They hung tough in two of those losses, both at home Womens Dre'Mont Jones Jersey , against two of the league’s top teams.They lost 27-23 to the Chiefs (5-1) in a game in which Keenum missed a wide open Demaryius Thomas for the potential game-winning score in the closing seconds, and the Rams beat them 23-20 Sunday thanks to penalties and an interception that cost the Broncos at least 10 points, including one on Emmanuel Sanders for taunting after what he mistakenly thought was a 44-yard touchdown.Last week, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave bunched his receivers closer to struggling left tackle Garett Bolles at times and used more two-back sets. Still, he didn’t call many more runs for rookie running backs Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, who have combined for four TD runs and a 5.19-yard average per carry despite the imbalance in play calls.The Broncos rushed just 17 times and threw 41 passes against L.A. During their skid, they’ve run 80 times and thrown 159 passes.“When you’re playing (from) behind, you’re trying to stick to your game plan and keep running the ball here and there,” Keenum said. “But especially with the later it gets, you need to make explosive plays. That gives the defense, especially the defensive line, a chance to tee off. …“It’s tough. But we put ourselves in that position early and we’ve got to make sure we don’t do that again this week.”Bolles, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2017, continues to struggle — he leads the league with six holding calls a year after committing an NFL-high 10. And losing left guard Ronald Leary to a torn Achilles on Sunday means Max Garcia returns to the spot he occupied next to Bolles much of last season.Bolles said Leary’s injury was “a tough one for me. It made me super emotional, but I have to move on. I have to help Max as much as he helps me and we have to get the job done.”Coach Vance Joseph said Sam Jones, a rookie from Arizona State, will be the backup guard against the Cardinals.“I trust the offensive line no matter who’s in there,” Keenum said.Notes: S Su’a Cravens (knee surgery) and WR-KR Jordan Taylor (double hip surgery) both practiced for the first time this season. “It was good to see Jordan back out there and also Su’a, but it’s a jog-through today,” Joseph said. “We’ll go fast tomorrow, as far as the 7-on-7 red zone and the team red zone, so we’ll see how they feel.”