The Denver Broncos have just bet the short-term future of their franchise on the development of first-round quarterback Bo Nix, making the cultivation of a stable offensive line an absolute necessity.
How does the Broncos’ tackle room look as we near training camp? Let’s look in our second installment of our position preview series.
Position Preview series so far:
Starter (LT): Garett Bolles
Will He Make The Roster? Almost undoubtedly yes, and the small .0001% chance he doesn’t has nothing to do with him getting cut. There’s been mild trade buzz about Garett Bolles for several seasons now, and maybe some star tackle on a contender goes down in training camp, leading to said contender giving the rebuilding Broncos a godfather offer for their tackle.
Even then though, they have almost nothing in terms of backup plans (as we’ll discuss shortly) and a rookie quarterback whose development they won’t want to hinder.
What Will Be His Projected Role? Starting left tackle. Barring the incredible long shot of a trade, he’s the unquestioned starter.
What Will Define Success? Following up his excellent 2023 campaign with another stellar season. Bolles’ last dominant year was 2020, which he followed up with a good-not-great 2021 and a poor showing in 2022 before injury cut his season short.
If he can sustain his high-end level of play for two consecutive seasons, right before his contract expires, he’s set to get a massive pay day, either from the Denver Broncos, or someone else.
What Question Does He Have To Answer? Can he fit into Sean Payton’s image of the Denver Broncos?
Whether or not he can sustain success is one of the big questions hanging over Bolles, and will determine how much money he makes next summer, but who pays him will likely be determined by this one.
Last year, Bolles was excellent, except for on some of Payton’s gap-scheme run concepts. On zone-scheme blocks, Bolles thrived, while new additions Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey were the sore thumbs, but it seems Payton is looking to lean more and more into the ground-and-pound style rushing attack that was Bolles’ weak spot.
Lloyd Cushenberry III followed a similar pattern to Bolles — looking great while zone-blocking and shaky when in the gap-scheme blocks — and when his deal came up, the Denver Broncos had no problem letting him leave for Tennessee, despite him finally experiencing his breakout season.
If Bolles can’t fit Payton’s vision, the Broncos will likely have a different left tackle in 2025.
Starter (RT): Mike McGlinchey
Will He Make The Roster? Yes, without a doubt. There’s not even a far-fetched trade possibility here, as a Mike McGlinchey trade would cost the Denver Broncos $7.5 million against the cap.
What Will Be His Projected Role? He is the unquestioned starting right tackle for the same reason listed above. His run blocking also fits Denver’s new identity perfectly.
What Will Define Success? Playing up to his contract value. The Denver Broncos are paying Mike McGlinchey to be one one of the game’s 10 best right tackles and a linchpin of their offensive front. Last year, he was arguably the weakest part of it on a regular basis.
For this year to be a success, and for McGlinchey to stay in the team’s plans long-term, he’ll have to play much better than he showed in 2023.
What Question Does He Have To Answer? Can he live up to that contract value? When the Broncos signed it, it was labeled by national media as an overpay and an act of treating a mediocre starter like a star
Through one season, they look right.
That said, McGlinchey still has plenty of talent. He was a top-10 pick for a reason. If Zach Strief can find a way to get that out of him, it would be a tremendous win for Denver.
Swing Tackle: Matt Peart
Will He Make The Roster? Probably.
Matt Peart’s contract is $1.15M with minimal guarantees, so if he’s not one of the Denver Broncos’ four best tackles, they could cut him without a second thought.
Plus, with how he played in 2023, not being one of the four best options doesn’t sound far-fetched for him. Last year, he was graded by Pro Football Focus as the sixth-worst tackle overall, the worst run-blocker, and the 28th-worst pass protector, among tackles with at least 125 snaps.
It’s likely Peart fends off two of Quinn Bailey, Alex Palczewski and Frank Crum, but it’s possible he could be cut.
What Will Be His Projected Role? Peart is set to be in a heated camp competition with Bailey for the job of primary swing tackle.
The winner of that battle will be the next-man-up at tackle, while the loser might not see the field this season.
Because Denver went out and added Peart this offseason and because they’re more financially committed to him, Peart is the favorite over the incumbent.
What Will Define Success? The Denver Broncos were wildly healthy on the line last season, and it’s unlikely they get that lucky two seasons in a row. It’s commonplace to have at least one tackle miss some time, and if that happens, Peart has to be better than he was for New York a season ago.
If he’s a competent backup tackle, instead of an absolute bottom-feeder, it’s a win.
What Question Does He Have To Answer? Can he block the run in Sean Payton’s system?
Earlier we raised this question about Bolles, but Bolles looks like a suped-up Penei Sewell compared to Matt Peart in the run game. If he looks as troublesome there as he was a season ago, he might not make it through camp.
Bench: Quinn Bailey
Will He Make The Roster? Probably.
Despite not making the initial 53-man roster last season, Quinn Bailey quickly became one of Payton’s favorite reserve options. Bailey played snaps in every single game last season, and played offensive snaps in all but two.
It’s somewhat hard to imagine him not making the roster, but the fact two new young, Payton-acquired talents are nipping at his heels keeps his release well within the realm of possibility.
What Will Be His Projected Role? Bench offensive lineman who sees the field more and more as the season goes on.
The Denver Broncos’ investment in Peart does give him the inside track on Bailey, but Bailey should be a much better fit for Payton and ultimately see more playing time as a result.
What Will Define Success? Defeating Matt Peart in his camp battle. Winning that competition would set Bailey up as the Broncos’ No. 3 tackle, when one of the two starters is due to leave in free agency shortly.
That’s definitely a successful season for Bailey.
What Question Does He Have To Answer? Can he outperform a more experienced veteran that his coaching staff brought in to unseat him?
Quinn Bailey has faced his share of battles while existing on the Denver Broncos’ roster bubble, but he’s never had this open of a runway for the No. 3 tackle job. Whether or not he can take advantage of that runway is a huge question.
Practice Squad: Alex Palczewski, Frank Crum
Will They Make The Roster? Alex Palczewski made the initial roster last year over Quinn Bailey as part of some roster shuffling, and then missed most of the season on injured reserve.
Nonetheless, the fact the Denver Broncos went out of their way to protect him, and risk Bailey getting poached suggests they like him a good deal.
It’s more likely than not that he misses out, but if either Quinn Bailey or Matt Peart stumble, he should be the favorite to take their spot.
As for Frank Crum, he projects to be this year’s undrafted rookie tackle project, taking the reigns from Palczewski. The Broncos are clearly fans of Palczewski, but it wouldn’t surprise if Crum takes his spot as the team’s favorite developmental tackle.
What Will Be Their Projected Role? Developmental tackles with a long-term vision of them being solid backups and maybe even eventual starters, if the Broncos get insanely good tackle development or extremely unlucky with their team-building approach.
What Will Define Success? Shedding their ‘practice squader’ label to beat out either Quinn Bailey or Matt Peart for a roster spot?
Again, although Bailey and Peart have the inside track on their respective jobs, neither are secure enough to be safe from a challenge by Palczewski or Crum.
If either shine, the Broncos’ tackle room will get a much-needed youth infusion.
What Question Do They Have To Answer? Can they be backup-level NFL tackles?
UDFA tackles are successful almost as infrequently as UDFA quarterbacks. These are premium positions and so teams prioritize drafting anyone with promise. For either to become a long-term NFL backup, they’d have to develop into extreme outliers for their draft slot.
Cut: Will Sherman, Demontrey Jacobs
Will They Make The Roster? Almost definitely not. Four tackles will likely make the roster, and with Sherman and Jacobs ranked sixth and seventh, they’ll have to unseat a healthy number of their competitors to get anywhere.
What Will Be Their Projected Role? Likely cut candidates. They could sneak their way on the practice squad certainly, but again, everyone else is ahead of them.
Sherman and Jacobs are the only Denver Broncos tackles without any guaranteed money on their deals and zero NFL snaps.
What Will Define Success? If either can make the practice squad even, they will have pulled off an upset worthy of celebration.
What Question Do They Have To Answer? Can they show more developmental promise than Crum and Palczewski?
At this point in the depth chart, we’re not talking about 2024 impact. It will be about which long-term gamble looks more likely to bear fruit. If Sherman or Jacobs become the answer to that question, over Crum and Palczewski, they’ll make the final 53.
