"We have to get better": The Broncos have three options at left tackle with a clear frontrunner

DENVER — Frustration. Anger. Confusion.

John Elway feels the same way about the Broncos’ offensive tackle situation as the rest of Broncos County.

“We have to get better there, there’s no question about it,” Elway said, regarding Denver’s tackle situation. “That’s a position we have to get better at.”

That statement came from Elway on Saturday night. After free agency. After all seven rounds of the draft. After all 10 of the team’s picks.

The Broncos didn’t sign a tackle outside of the organization in free agency. They didn’t use a single one of their 10 picks on a tackle.

“We just didn’t feel like we were in a situation to where we could add to that,” Elway stated, explaining why the team didn’t draft a tackle despite saying the position had “good” depth. “I think with where we were and what our game plan was, the tackle never fell for us as far as something we thought that there was a player there that could help us at that position.”

Additionally, Denver passed on trading for Trent Williams—the seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle. The Broncos didn’t engage in trade talks with Washington after hearing the compensation that was being asked for.

The 49ers pulled the trigger for Williams Saturday morning by sending a 2020 fifth-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick to Washington in exchange for the 6-foot-5 blind-side protector.

Yet, much as every Broncos fan, Elway wants the position to improve. The Broncos “have” to have it get better, in fact.

That leaves three options for Elway’s wishes to come true.

The first is to sign Jason Peters. The 38-year-old, nine-time Pro Bowler is still on the market after starting 13 games for the Eagles last year.

The second option is hope—specifically around Ja’Wuan James being able to play a full season, or at least the majority of it. The high-priced right tackle’s track record of staying healthy every other year is on Elway’s side for 2020.

“We have great expectations with him coming back and being the right tackle for us and playing like he’s capable of playing,” Elway said. “He was hurt so he couldn’t play very much last year.”

And the third option, the clear frontrunner, is looking to Mike Munchak to use his Hall-of-Fame-worthy coaching to develop Garett Bolles or Elijah Wilkinson to be at least a solid starting left tackle.

“As Vic said, it’ll be an open competition at the left tackle with Eli [Wilkinson] and Garett Bolles,” Elway reiterated on Saturday night.

That’s right. It’s no longer Bolles’ job. It’s up for grabs between the former first-round pick and the 2017 UDFA. Regardless of who wins the job, Elway believes Munchak’s magic and the open competition will be enough to upgrade the position that led the league in holding last year.

“We still feel like we can be very competitive with the tackle situation that we have and the open competition,” Elway said in his always-confident demeanor. “The best player is going to play.”

In the same press conference, Denver’s general manager acknowledged the 2020 offseason was about giving the offense the tools to succeed.

“We felt like we had something to build around,” Elway said, referring to his confidence in Drew Lock.

“I felt that offensively, for us to be able to compete and give Drew a chance to be successful and us to be successful on the offense’s side, is we had to get some speed and we had to get some talent on that offensive side and some explosiveness on the offensive side.”

Talented, speed and explosiveness. Elway landed them all in the draft. But in building around Lock, the Broncos didn’t address Drew’s blindside protector—arguably the most important piece around a quarterback.

Whether the answer is Bolles or Wilkinson, the real answer to the Broncos’ problems at tackle will be Mike Munchak.