10-year vet Garett Bolles is considered one of the NFL’s best left tackles. The Denver Broncos selected him 20th overall in the first round of the 2017 draft, and he has been a cornerstone for the franchise over the last decade. Bolles will likely be inducted into the Broncos Hall of Fame and potentially the NFL Hall of Fame once he retires. He is beloved by Broncos fans and has helped Denver through many losing and winning seasons.
Before becoming a fan favorite and achieving immense success, Bolles started his career as one of the Broncos’ most disappointing and hated players. His struggles came at a time when fan expectations were high and criticizing athletes was the norm. Bolles’s journey from one of the most hated players to one of the most loved is one of the most intriguing stories in the NFL.
Garett Bolles Early Struggles
Bolles played for the University of Utah, where he earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors before entering the 2017 draft and being selected by the Broncos in the first round. Denver was two years removed from a Super Bowl win and coming off a disappointing yet respectable 9-7 season. Expectations and standards among Broncos fans were at an all-time high. So the backlash when their first-round tackle played poorly, and the Broncos had their first losing season since 2010, wasn’t pretty.
Bolles finished his rookie year with 12 total penalties, 10 of which were holding calls. This famously earned him the nickname “Garett Holds” from Broncos fans and most NFL fans. He would continue his penalty issues for the next two years, with 10 accepted penalties in each of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Bolles was under heavy scrutiny, including from Broncos then-GM John Elway, who called him out following a whopping four holding calls in one game against the Chicago Bears in 2019. He allowed a total of 15 sacks in his first three years, on top of the abundance of penalties.
The 2020 Turning Point
The Broncos still saw potential in Bolles and were committed to developing him and fixing his penalty issues. They had hired Mike Munchak, a widely respected and one of the league’s top offensive line coaches, in 2019 to help the offensive tackle. The 2020 season showed that the move to hire Munchak worked out, as Bolles to this day credits him for helping him turn his career around. He was able to cut down Bolles penalties from 10 to 4 and allowed 0 sacks and 13 pressures (per PFF) the entire season, earning him second-team All-Pro honors.
Bolles breakout season in 2020 wasn’t enough to help the team win games, but it was huge for his confidence and helped build belief in the Broncos and their fans that he could be a franchise tackle. The Broncos showed their faith by giving him a 4-year, $68 million contract extension following his 2020 season. This was the start of a perception shift about Bolles from hated to loved
Garett Bolles Successful Years
The 2021 and 2022 seasons were both solid years for Bolles, as he only allowed six sacks over that span, but his 2022 season was cut short due to a broken leg he suffered in week 5. He was able to bounce back from his injury in 2023, when he only allowed three sacks, and one sack in the 2024 season.
Bolles’s penalties, however, slowly started to climb back up, as he had a combined 20 accepted penalties in 2023 and 2024 compared to a combined 11 accepted penalties between 2021 and 2022. Despite this, Denver decided to give him another 4-year, $82 million contract extension after the 2024 season, which ended up paying off.
Bolles’ 2025 season was arguably the best year of his career and a second breakout phase. He had a total of 6 accepted penalties, allowing 0 sacks and 19 total pressures, including only 6 QB hits (per PFF). He also earned his first Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro selections, as well as being a finalist for the newly integrated Protector of the Year award.
Bolles also experienced his first playoff win in 2025, helping Denver reach the AFC Championship Game, and winning 14 games. The Broncos and Bolles head into the 2026 season with high expectations of repeating their success from last year.
Both parties have come a long way from their early struggles. Bolles has cemented himself as a top tackle in the league over the past couple of years with his high-caliber play and accolades. Considering how his career started and how many thought his career would go, no one could have predicted the turnaround the All-Pro tackle has made.
The Broncos have started the 2026 season off slow, going 1-1. Despite this, Bolles continues to play at an elite level, allowing 0 sacks and 0 pressures (per PFF) in the two games played so far. It will be interesting to see how much better he can get and put his early career struggles behind him.
