The Denver Broncos had a half-dozen players make the Pro Bowl roster yesterday, and their backgrounds are all over the map. The toughest road to this particular honor, though, belonged to a pair of veterans, offensive tackle Garrett Bolles and receiver Courtland Sutton, and they had to wait a long time for coach Sean Payton to arrive and get the team on track.
According to Nick Kosmider of The Athletic, the pair played through four head coaches, including an interim HC, as well as five offensive coordinators. That can make it tough to break through, but Payton definitely appreciates the effort, starting with Sutton’s obvious improvement.
“He’s a fantastic target and a great worker,” Payton said this week as the Broncos get ready for their Christmas night game against Kansas City. “… He’s about everything you look for in a football player and now, (when) the ball is above his head and that (catch) radius is much different.”
Bolles has already been a second-team All-Pro, so it’s not like his excellence has gone unnoticed. What he’s done this year, though, is unprecedented, according to offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.
“When you’re as good as he is, you have the tendency to be like, ‘Man, I know what I know and it’s working, and I’m just going to keep doing what I’m comfortable with,'” Lombardi added. “As time’s gone on, he’s applied a lot of those coaching techniques that have even made him better. I’m really proud of him.”
Quarterback Bo Nix definitely appreciates the stability Bolles has provided. The Broncos have been lost two guards this season, so much of the line has been in flux through out the season.
“(Bolles) called it at the beginning of the year,” Nix said. “We talked about how he was going to be a dominant player this year. You’re not voted to go to the Pro Bowl without a dominant year. He called it, and he answered the bell, and he went out and got it. That just speaks to how good of a player he is. He’s learned a lot along the way.”
As for Sutton, he’s given Nix a reliable target who can move the chains and occasionally shake free to catch deep balls and stretch defenses, which is a high-value combination.
“The older (Sutton) gets, the better he’s getting,” Nix said about the veteran receiver. “Quite frankly, we wouldn’t be the same without him, and I’m fortunate to have a guy like that to start my career with.”