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Oakland Raiders 2017 NFL Draft Prospect: Garett Bolles

By Mario Tovar

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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The Oakland Raiders have a dominant offensive line, but still could use immediate help on the right side. Here is a breakdown of Utah OT Garett Bolles.

The Oakland Raiders offensive line has been superb the last two years, but there are some still questions on the right side —  among them the long-term contract status of Gabe Jackson and the player-by-committee rotation at the right tackle position.

Garett Bolles, who’ll be 25 by the time he suits for an NFL team, has the potential to be a Pro Bowl tackle who could hold down the right side of the line for a decade.

Many scouts may worry about the fact Bolles only played one year at Utah, but facing the talent that he did in the Pac-12 more than makes up for it.

Production

Bolles started his collegiate career at Snow College (a JUCO in the state of Utah) but transferred to the University of Utah in 2016. He was named a First Team All-Pac 12 player in his only season of Pac-12 play, which is quite an impressive feat to be playing at that high of a level as quickly as he did.

Bolles plays with an incredible mean streak, and it’s evident as soon as you start watching the tape that he often “plays after the whistle”. He’s solid both in pass protection and as a run blocker, the latter of which was on full display against USC.

Under the tutelage of Mike Tice, there’s no reason Bolles can’t be an All-Pro by his third season.

Measurables

Bolles has plenty of height standing at 6’5″ but he’ll need to add some weight, as he weighed in at just 297 pounds at the NFL Combine. Being just under 300 pounds is obviously a notable number compared to an average person, but compared to other NFL offensive tackles, it puts him in the bottom four percentile for weight, per Mock Draftable.

This is certainly something that can be improved with the proper regimen of strength and nutritional training that comes with joining the NFL.

Athletically, it’s his speed and agility that was on display at the combine. He posted a 40-yard dash of 4..95 seconds, a three-cone drill of 7.29 seconds and a broad jump of 115.0 inches. At Utah’s Pro Day, Bolles was unable to perform the bench press due to a pectoral injury.

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Final Thoughts

Many experts don’t see Reggie McKenzie taking an offensive lineman early, but Derek Carr is the team’s biggest asset, so protecting him is be the second most important thing for this the team.

With Penn, Osemele, Hudson and Gabe, this team is stacked on the offensive line. But Penn is 33 years old and only has so much left in tack, and right tackle remains a question mark.

Bolles could immediately play right tackle, and if the team wanted to move him to left side after Penn is done, they could also have the left tackle of the future.

Must Read: Jared Cook Could Be The Missing Piece

Everyone will talk about an explosive offense or the needs at defense, but at the end of the day, it all starts and ends with the trenches.

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