Denver Broncos offensive lineman Garett Bolles has come a long way. A very long way.
Bolles has transformed himself into one of the best left tackles in the league, but the road to good things is often difficult. Recently, he was nominated as the team's Walter Payton Man of the Year candidate for the second time in his career. Each team nominates one player for the award, recognizing one player for their outstanding work in their community every season. It's considered by many to be the highest individual honor a player can receive.
Bolles, who was kicked out of his father's home, was a young kid who looked like anything but someone who could win that award after he was arrested in high school for extreme vandalism of a rival high school's football field.
That experience led to Bolles becoming active in working with youth in the juvenile justice system, something that helped him be nominated for the award in 2023. Bolles is still active in that area, but more recently, he opened a school that places a special focus on speech therapy. Bolles' oldest son, Kingston, was diagnosed with apraxia, a speech disorder.
Speaking to Broncos 9News Insider Mike Klis, Bolles discussed his off-the-field endeavors.
"I don't know about stepping up my game. I just do it because I truly do love and care for these kids. With the detention center, we’re in the process of remodeling the pods. I think there are six pods that we do with new carpet and new paint, new couches. Obviously, communication and things with these kids to interact with their families and their mentors. A place where they’re not just locked up and just feel like it’s white walls and brown benches. It’s actually something that they can claim that it’s home. There’s a study where they did this in prisons across the country and obviously, it’s made a huge impact for a lot of people. So I wanted to start it, take what I’ve learned at some of the prisons I’ve gone to with (Owner) Carrie [Walton Penner] and the Penner Family.
Obviously, now with the most renowned speech therapist, Miss Jennie [Bjorem], and what she has done for my son, Kingston. Seeing the struggles he’s had over the last couple of years and seeing where he’s grown. One in a thousand kids struggles with apraxia of speech, so if you really look at that, we have 75,000 fans in our stadium, so that’s 75 people out of the entire stadium if I did my math correctly. (Laughs) If you really look at it, it’s a very rare thing. Knowing that it hits so close to home to me, I wanted to create something to give back to these kids.''
Garett Bolles has overcome adversity on the field and off the field
The road for Bolles to the NFL wasn't easy, either. He had to begin his college career at tiny Snow College in Utah. He was nowhere near an NFL radar at that time, but he transferred to the University of Utah in 2016 and played quite well for the Utes. He decided to forego his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.
The Broncos took him in the first round, but that pick came with plenty of scrutiny. Bolles was old for a rookie at 25, and those years in junior college may have made him seem better than he actually was, as the level of competition he went up against was questioned by many scouts and analysts.
He began his career as the team's starting left tackle right out of the gate, and that came with some hard lessons. Penalty flags flew often, and Bolles' number 72 was called out by the referees on a frequent basis. It happened so often that Broncos fans gave him the nickname "Garett Holds".
Things were ugly and many fans thought the Broncos had made a bad pick. But Bolles never gave up and he endeared himself to fans by always having his teammates' backs, particularly the quarterback, whom he is paid to protect. Bolles even stood up for Russell Wilson on a consistent basis when nearly everyone within Broncos Country had soured on him.
In short, Bolles is the kind of guy you want on your team.
Recently, Bolles made an appearance on the Fitz and Whit podcast hosted by former NFL players Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth and on that, he discussed a variety of topics, including overcoming his learning disability, something many fans may not have been aware of.
Garett Bolles speaks on the Sean Payton impact 💯
— Fitz & Whit (@fitzandwhit) November 26, 2025
"This is the closest group that I've ever been around." Pic.twitter.com/DXNo8cteN0
Bolles has become an admirable man whom the youth can look up to, specifically those who are in the same spot in life he was once in. On the field, those changes are evident as well. Once a player who was flagged for holding so often that it became a punchline, check this statistic out:
Garett Bolles holding calls
First 3 seasons (2017-19): 20
Next 5 seasons (2020-24): 14
Bolles not only cleaned up his game, but he has also become a terrific offensive lineman who is a major piece of Denver's offense. His turnaround on the field coincides with the Broncos' reversal of fortune. Not long ago, the Broncos looked like a complete dumpster fire with Nathaniel Hackett as the head coach and Wilson at quarterback, saddling the team with a crippling contract.
READ: Why Broncos are likely to lose top defensive player in 2026
But in just a short time under the guidance of Sean Payton, the Broncos have overcome that situation and are contending for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. If the Broncos make a run at the Super Bowl, no player on the team is going to enjoy that more than Bolles, and no player will deserve the success of that achievement more, either.
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