Todd McShay’s early 2021 mock draft has Denver taking a left tackle

The longest tenured starter on the Denver Broncos offense is now Garett Bolles, which means he might be next to go come 2021. Denver already declined his fifth-year option and looked poised to let him walk next offseason. If they do part ways, that’ll put left tackle at or near the top of their needs list in next years’ draft.

ESPN’s Todd McShay thinks Denver will do just that in his early 2021 NFL mock draft, sending left tackle Samuel Cosmi out of Texas to Denver with the 12th overall pick.

12. Denver Broncos
Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

Denver invested in its Drew Lock-led offense over the past few months, adding receivers Jeudy and KJ Hamler and center Lloyd Cushenberry III with early draft picks, and signing guard Graham Glasgow and running back Melvin Gordon via free agency. But even before right tackle Ja’Wuan James opted out of the NFL season, tackle was a concern. Garett Bolles hasn’t been great and could be gone after this season. Cosmi brings 6-foot-7, 310-pound size with superb mobility. He still has to develop a bit, but he has the talent to emerge as a high-end left tackle. And if you want a glimpse of his athleticism and quickness, check out his 12-yard touchdown from last October.

Cosmi seems to have the size and the athleticism to fit the bill of a first round pick. And Denver will certainly be looking for Bolles’ replacement next year.

One of our staffers here at Mile High Report shared an interesting tidbit with me yesterday on Bolles. He has 29 holding penalties in his career (3,183 snaps), which happens to be the exact number of holding penalties newly signed right tackle Demar Dotson has had in his career. Except Dotson has more than twice as many snaps at 6,907.

A guy like Cosmi would certainly be an adequate replacement on that front. Would you be please if Denver got Cosmi in the first round next year or, for that matter, one of the top left tackles on the board once the draft comes?