The Denver Broncos have one of the best offensive tackles in football and it's becoming difficult for anyone to deny.
Garett Bolles has come a long way for the team. A first-round pick in 2017, Bolles is in his ninth season with the team and it seems that he is finally getting the recognition that he deserves. But he is deserving of so much more.
Bolles has played excellent football for the team this season, protecting the blind side of Bo Nix. In fact, he has not given up a single sack all season. As mentioned by The 33rd Team, Bolles leads the league for tackles with 200 or more pass-block snaps this season without giving up a sack. Bolles has 674 snaps.
The next best on the list is Luke Goedeke of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 384. That is nearly 300 fewer snaps than Bolles.
When discussing the best offensive tackles in the NFL, few fans outside of Broncos Country are going to name Bolles. Analysts in the media will almost certainly name at least five guys before him as well. But Bolles, based on this stat, should be the runaway winner of a brand-new award.
This year, at the annual NFL Honors awards ceremony, the league will give out the new Protector of the Year Award. This year's awards show will take place on February 5 and it would be incredible to see Bolles win that award.
Shortly after the announcement of this new award, Nick Shook of NFL.com listed 10 candidates he believed could be in line to win it at season's end. Bolles is not on his list. In fact, he's not even amongst the honorable mentions after his list, though he did include Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz in that.
It will likely go to a bigger, more recognizable name, particularly since it's the first year the award will be handed out. But if a left tackle has nearly 700 snaps as a pass blocker and not one of those has resulted in a sack, that seems to be the definition of the best protector of the year.
READ: 6 Broncos players who must step up to help avoid early playoff exit
Bolles is also the Broncos' nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. What a night it could end up being for one of the most deserving players on the team.
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