"Damn! Damn! Damn!"
- Florida Evans, at the end of a Good Times episode
Before I get started on my analysis of the Denver Broncos' 2017 first round pick, I want to say that the Carolina Panthers are a bunch of haters. They drafted the versatile Christian McCaffrey; anyone who has spoken with me, kept up with my blogs, or even in the comment section of the Broncos Facebook page knows how much I wanted McCaffrey to come home to Denver at No. 20. Hence, #DraftChristianMcCaffrey.
Last night, that did not come to fruition, for the Panthers selected him with the 8th overall pick. Now, I read something on the RotoWorld website a few days prior that said it was unlikely that he would be available to Denver at No. 20-- it turns out that they were right-- but hey, the draft is crap shoot, so anything is bound to happen. Also, I've decided to do a blog covering Denver's first round pick exclusively; the blog covering their picks from rounds 2-7 will come later this weekend or early next week.
With that out of the way, I would like to welcome the Denver Broncos 2017 first round draft pick, offensive tackle Garett Bolles to the Orange and Blue. He was selected by Denver with the 20th overall pick last night. The adjective in the blog's title seems offensive, but I assure you, it's all good. I'll elaborate more later. When his name was announced as the Broncos' draft pick, my initial reaction was: "Who?"
Then it quickly came back to mind that I heard his name vaguely as one of the top tackles in his position. I didn't get a chance to look at film on him until afterwards. At the time, I studied the top two ranked prospects, Cam Robinson and Ryan Ramczyk, the latter was projected to be drafted by Denver on some mock draft boards. They both were solid blockers to me, I didn't see them as dominant blockers.
Then, I took a look at Bolles-- draft highlights and film-- last night and I was blown away. He's the dominant blocker that I'm looking for when evaluating offensive lineman. Apparently, Coach Joseph and Elway share the same sentiments. I looked away from the TV screen for a split second after Tampa Bay picked, and Denver's pick was already in.
Coach Joseph has mentioned that he wants his lineman to be physical and nasty on both sides of the trenches (offensively and defensively), and they drafted a personification of that last night. He's not a blocker, he's a bulldozer. At 6-5, 297 pounds, he's very mobile and nimble for a guy his size. I was amazed at how quickly he was able to get out and lay a hat (block) on his assigned man on pull plays. I haven't seen anyone move that quickly on a pull play since Mike Iupati.
My only critiques is that his strength is also his weakness. He can be aggressive to a fault. This is evident with him being one of, if not, the most penalized offensive lineman in college last season. He also needs to refine his balance; he would sometimes fall during his blocks. It was mentioned last night that he was expelled multiple times from schools, but this was during his teenage years, and it seems that he has put his dark past behind him.
Overall, I love this pick. Yes, I wanted McCaffrey, but you can't always get what you want, but you can get what you need, and Elway definitely addressed a need. He strikes me as a gentle monster; a gentle giant who, as the saying goes, will give you the shirt off his back, one with a bleeding heart who gets along with nearly everyone.
On the field, it's a different story. He becomes a monster that devours and slays anything in his way. He mentioned his loyalty, already making it clear that if one messes with any of his teammates, it's equivalent to messing with his wife. I already had that impression of him before he made that statement.
If he can fix the problems I pointed out, and I'm confident that he will, John Elway will have once again stolen another valuable prospect. He's expected to compete for a starting OT position, and personally, I'm expecting him to be protecting Siemian's (or Lynch, but I believe it's Siemian's job to lose), blindside by Week One. The more I watch him, and the more he talks, the more I love this pick. Grade: A
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