Garett Bolles was weeks away from his 25th birthday when the Broncos drafted him 20th overall last spring. With only a year of FBS experience, Bolles was an oversized kid with a grit on the field and eagerness off it. He was a father. He was a husband. He was the atypical first-rounder.
And he was exactly what the Broncos wanted as their left tackle.
“We just really thought that athletically, the way he plays the game, the mentality he brings to the game, he was in our mind the best left tackle in the draft,” general manager John Elway said then.