Broncos Garrett Bolles Is The Best Active Tackle In The NFL

Garrett Bolles is having one of the best seasons of his career. He injured his ankle in the Broncos’ win against the Chargers, and the injury initially made him questionable to return. Thankfully, the injury wasn’t season-ending, as he returned to the game.

Hasn’t allowed a single sack this season

The ninth-year veteran, whom the Broncos drafted 20th overall in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Utah, entered the matchup against the Chargers as the only tackle to play 975 offensive snaps this season, not allowing a single sack, according to Pro Football Focus.

Bolles’ quarterback pressure percentage this season is 5.5%, which is the lowest among NFL tackles with at least 550 pass blocking snaps according to NextGen Stats.

Penei Sewell, Darnell Wright, Mike McGlinchey, and Morgan Moses are all tackles with a higher quarterback pressure percentage, while Bolles is the only one out of all of them who has allowed zero sacks.

Is one of six Broncos selected to participate in the 2026 Pro Bowl

This season marks Bolles’ first selection to play in the Pro Bowl as a starter on the AFC roster, even though he was an Associated Press All-Pro selection in 2020.

It’s a massive achievement for Bolles as he becomes the fourth Broncos tackle since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to do so. He is the first tackle selected for Denver since Ryan Clady in 2014.

Gary Zimmerman and Tony Jones are the only other tackles in team history besides Bolles and Clady to earn Pro Bowl honors.

The other five players for the Broncos selected for the Pro Bowl this season are Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto, Quinn Meinerz, Pat Surtain II, and Courtland Sutton. The Broncos are one of four teams with the most Pro Bowl selections in 2026.

Bolles and his teammates, who have a chance to play in the Pro Bowl, also made history, as this is the most Pro Bowl selections the Broncos have had in a season since 2016, a time when the team last had six selections.

Has a lot of experience compared to other active tackles in the NFL

After starting in the Broncos’ regular-season finale, Bolles has 133 career starts, tying former Broncos tackle Matt Lepsis for the second-most starts in team history.

Bolles and his teammate McGlinchey are one of two active pairs of tackles in the NFL who have each started 100 games.

In week one of the 2024 NFL season, Bolles became the first player in team history to reach 100 career starts at left tackle while becoming the sixth Bronco all-time to reach 100 starts as an offensive tackle.

The Broncos will need Bolles to be fully healthy in the postseason, especially if they want to continue protecting Bo Nix. He will most certainly play a vital role in the team’s run game as well.