The AFC West has no shortage of questions up front, but Denver sits in the cleanest spot of the bunch. When you start sorting through the division’s offensive tackle pairings, the Broncos come out on top with Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey, and it’s not hard to see why.
Bolles is coming off a first-team All-Pro season, while McGlinchey has built a career around being dependable. Together, they give Denver something every team wants and few teams actually have: two tackles you can trust week after week. Both are on the wrong side of 30, but that matters a little less on the offensive line, where players can keep rolling well into their 30s.
That stability is part of why Denver’s trenches have become such a calling card. Head coach Sean Payton made the line a priority when he arrived, adding Ben Powers, Mike McGlinchey and Zach Allen. The result has been one of the league’s stronger groups up front on both sides of the ball, and that foundation still matters as training camps pick up.
The rest of the division doesn’t quite match Denver’s level of certainty. Kansas City lands fourth with Josh Simmons and Jaylon Moore/Esa Pole, and the concerns are obvious.
Simmons started only eight games as a rookie, while Moore and Pole combined to start 10 games last season as the Chiefs try to figure out the right side. The interior line is solid, but the tackle picture is still a major question mark.
Las Vegas checks in third with Kolton Miller and DJ Glaze. Miller has long been a steady blindside presence, but Glaze has work to do after grading 65th among 89 qualified tackles in PFF’s data last season. He’s started all but three games over two years, yet the play needs to improve if the Raiders want this pairing to really hold.
The Los Angeles Chargers come in second with Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, a duo that could have claimed the top spot on talent alone. The issue is availability.
Slater missed all of the 2025 season and played only three games in 2022, while Alt also missed significant time last year. Both are Pro Bowl-level players, but the injuries keep this group from being the safest bet in the division.
So the Broncos take the top spot, and it comes down to something simple: reliability. In a division where the other teams are still sorting through injuries, inexperience or both, Denver’s tackle duo gives them a real edge.
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Broncos Suddenly Have An Offensive Line Concern They Can't Ignore
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Head coach Sean Payton said Wattenberg will be evaluated and is expected to be fine, which offers some immediate relief. Still, the timing matters for a group trying to build cohesion in camp, especially when the center is the player tying the line together. Denver does not need an early scare at a position that matters so much to the offense, and it will be watching closely to see how Wattenberg responds once the team gets back on the field. [Read more 🡒]