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Seahawks draft target: Garrett Bolles, OT, Utah

By Keith Myers

Oct 29, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes offensive lineman Garett Bolles (72) celebrates a touchdown by Utah Utes tight end Evan Moeai (not pictured) during the second half against the Washington Huskies at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Washington won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes offensive lineman Garett Bolles (72) celebrates a touchdown by Utah Utes tight end Evan Moeai (not pictured) during the second half against the Washington Huskies at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Washington won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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Offensive tackle Garrett Bolles out of Utah looks like a starting right tackle in the NFL. His age will push him down, making him a Seahawks draft target.

Offensive tackles that have the talent to start right away and check all the boxes physically don’t make it out the top 15. By the time the Seahawks draft at 26, they have to be willing to accept someone with some question marks.

Perhaps that means drafting someone without ideal length, like Forrest Lamp who was profiled yesterday. Perhaps it means selecting a player who is much older than you’d typically prefer. That is the major issue with Utah’s Garrett Bolles.

Bolles is everything you want in an offensive tackle. He’s got the length NFL teams covet and the smooth feet and quick kick-step to dominate in pass protection. Bolles is a technician in pass protection, and almost never gives up pressure on his QB.

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The primary issue that teams will have with him is his age. Bolles will turn 25 this summer, making him three years older than many of the other OTs in this draft class. Given the strong inverse correlation between draft age and NFL success, that is a huge red flag.

The other thing that will concern some NFL teams is that Bolles’ run blocking technique is… interesting. He gets his pads too high, essentially pass blocking on running plays. It was effective in college, but it won’t be at the next level.

He’ll need to learn to keep his pads low and fire off the ball. NFL defenders will be better equipped to take advantage when Bolles loses leverage. He already plays with the meanness that OL coaches love, he just needs to learn to harness it better.

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That is something that is teachable. His quick feet and superior balance are not. That is what makes Bolles a high ceiling player with a relatively high floor as well.

If he was younger, Bolles would be drafted in the top half of the first round. Instead, he could be a great fit for the Seahawks.

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