Broncos OT Duo Receives Curious Ranking by PFF

Question marks at offensive tackle led to the Denver Broncos taking a leap of faith this offseason. The Broncos spent upwards of $87.5 million to sign right tackle Mike McGlinchey away from the San Francisco 49ers.

On the blindside, Denver’s coaching staff is pinning its hopes on Garett Bolles returning to form after missing most of last season with a broken leg injury.

An indication of where things could lead for Denver at offensive tackle, Pro Football Focus graded the NFL's top-32 tackles, with both McGlinchey and Bolles gracing the list. The fact that both tackles are listed is only vaguely reassuring because, as PPF points out, the duo still has much to prove in 2023.

McGlinchey weighed in two spots ahead of his new teammate Bolles, but by placing only 21st on the list, some skeptics might wonder whether the Broncos are significantly over-valuing their 28-year-old right tackle. Denver's substantial investment will require more production than aiming for a solid average, but given his early performances in the Bay Area, the possibility of a strong bounce-back year for McGlinchey is still feasible.

21. MIKE MCGLINCHEY, DENVER BRONCOS

2023 will be a big season for McGlinchey, who didn't look quite as good over the past two seasons as he did in his first three with the San Francisco 49ers. Even considering that, he has yet to finish any of his five NFL seasons with a PFF grade lower than 69.0.

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Right tackle has been a constant source of problems for a succession of head coaches in Denver, so fans can see why Sean Payton pounded the table for McGlinchey's services. Over at left tackle, the issues have seesawed back and forth, even when Bolles has been healthy and available.

PFF reminded Broncos fans of Bolles' flag-riddled first few years in the league, and some of those issues began creeping back into his game prior to last season’s untimely leg break, but if he plays clean, Bolles could see his relatively low No. 23 ranking dramatically improve moving forwards.

23. GARETT BOLLES, DENVER BRONCOS

Bolles’ 90.6 PFF grade in 2020 seems like an outlier at this point. But if he is healthy for the 2023 season, then he’s still a top-25 tackle in the NFL. He has produced a PFF grade of 72.0 or better in all six of his seasons and was able to get his penalty count more under control in 2020 and 2021 after a difficult first three seasons in the NFL in that regard.

The stakes really couldn't be much higher for the Broncos' strategy at the tackle positions. Should this duo fail to hold up in pass pro, the Russell Wilson reclamation project will be fated to fail.

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