Garett Bolles, the Denver Broncos’ longest-tenured player, finally got his flowers from some league personnel, but there remains some discrepancy about his standing in the eyes of the public and internally.
Even the feedback came with a contradictory follow-up explanation.
That is not wholly surprising, given how each team values players and roles differently, which translates to how they hand out grades.
Broncos’ Garett Bolles Gets Revealing Follow-Up Message
GettyThe Denver Broncos have a different view of Garett Bolles than some around the NFL.
ESPN has been releasing its annual top-10 lists, featuring the best players at every position as voted on by NFL personnel. Bolles represented the Broncos, taking the 10th and final slot.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 11 that “Bolles hadn’t gained much traction in the top 10 series before, but his career performance in 2025 turned some heads. Bolles was a first-team All-Pro recipient.
“Bolles allowed five sacks on 630 pass-blocking reps and posted a 94% pass block win rate (ninth among tackles). Some voters say he doesn’t belong in the top 10 because he’s limited compared with other high-end talents on this list. And his run-game impact needs some work (77.7% run block win rate). But last season was undoubtedly his best in three years with head coach Sean Payton.”
However, that was where there appeared to be some discrepancy around Bolles.
“Pass protection, he’s one of the most consistent,” an unnamed NFL coordinator said, per Fowler, adding that Bolles “can handle his own” and “was a big part of the Broncos’ success.”
Fowler followed up the poll with a post on X, saying, “Now that we’re into offensive line, it’s important to note that sacks attributed can vary a bit. TruMedia attributes five to Garrett Bolles, while Broncos people I’ve spoken to believe he did not give up a sack last year.”
Pro Football Focus notably did not charge Bolles with any sacks allowed in 2025.
At any rate, Sharp Football Analysis’ Warren Sharp ranked the Broncos as the NFL’s best offensive line in a post on X on July 8.
Sean Payton’s Comments Explain Sack Variance
GettySean Payton’s comments could explain the varying views of Garett Bolles.
There is a simple explanation for the different sacks Bolles has been credited with allowing last season, and it came directly from Broncos head coach Sean Payton. Payton explained his view of sacks in discussing what attracted the Broncos to quarterback Bo Nix.
“I’ve said this before: show me good pass protection metrics, and I’m going to show you a quarterback that doesn’t take sacks. “It’s a credit to the O-line, but there’s some quarterbacks that are tough to protect for; hold the ball long. I’ve just gone through it in my career,” Payton told reporters in November 2024.
“[Drew] Brees was a hard sack because the ball came out. And so, it made everyone around him better. And so, I think those metrics are offensive line and quarterback-driven metrics.”
Fittingly, Nix drew comparisons to Brees during the pre-draft process.
Perhaps, then, it is no surprise that Bolles had his best season in Nix’s second year. It also puts his ranking in ESPN’s poll in a different context, where the Broncos may not have penalized Bolles like other metrics, but his value is the same nonetheless.
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