ENGLEWOOD — Garett Bolles held back tears reflecting on his football journey.

The veteran Broncos left tackle was selected Thursday as the team’s nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. It marks the second time Bolles has been nominated for what the league considers its most prestigious honor.

The award is given annually to a player who exhibits “outstanding leadership both on the field and in the community,” according to a news release. The winner, announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 5, receives up to a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice.

Bolles spoke with reporters on Thursday following practice at Broncos Park, ahead of Week 14 against the Raiders, to discuss his outreach efforts mentoring youth struggling with either the criminal justice system or learning differences. Bolles got emotional when asked about the role his adoptive parents, Greg and Emily Freeman, played in his desire to now help young people.

“Obviously, my mom and dad are just huge people in my life. What they’ve done for me? Oh man, now I’m going to start crying,” Bolles said. “They’ve given me everything.”

Bolles is considered one of the NFL’s top offensive linemen. He ranks first among tackles with zero sacks allowed this season, according to Pro Football Focus. His run-blocking grade (81.9) is seventh in the league among his position group. Bolles signed a four-year, $82-million contract extension with the Broncos last season.

Yet his path to NFL stardom was hardly guaranteed.

The 2017 first-round NFL draft pick has been open about a childhood in Utah that included drug use, arrests and jail time. His father kicked him out of the house. Bolles was later adopted by the family of his lacrosse coach and changed his life direction. The experience helps explain his strong desire to help others as a professional athlete.

“He’s a guy that’s been through a lot and matured a lot,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said on Thursday. “He’s got a good perspective on life. He’s got a really good spirit to him. You can just tell he’s a good human being who wants to do things right and wants to treat people the right way. … It’s great when one of your best players is contributing outside of football in that manner. It’s an inspiration to everybody. So, both those things are very important — protecting the quarterback and also contributing in the community like he does.”

Bolles earned a 2023 nomination for the NFL award due to his work with a juvenile mentorship program in Arapahoe County and regular visits to the Marvin W. Foote Youth Services Center.

He continued those efforts into 2025. Bolles regularly records personalized videos of encouragement for children in the criminal justice system and attends court hearings. Bolles said he attended different prisons with team co-owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner. On Thursday, Bolles spoke about renovating pods at a local detention center to include new carpet, paint and furniture.

“A place where they’re not just locked up and just feel like it’s white walls and brown benches,” Bolles said. “It’s actually something that they can claim that it’s home. There’s a study where they did this in prisons across the country and obviously it’s made a huge impact for a lot of people.”

Bolles also partnered this year with speech-language pathologist Jennie Bjorem to launch the B&B Apraxia Education Initiative this offseason and fund a training center in Parker. They both serve to help families better understand and support children with speech or language-based differences. Bolles is inspired by his son, Kingston, who suffers from Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) — a rare disorder with trouble controlling lips, jaws and tongues when speaking.

“I wanted to create the first-ever apraxia training center to be able to train speech pathologists to be able to learn more about apraxia speech so that these kids aren’t suffering in schools across the country,” Bolles said. “They’ll be able to come learn our curriculum, be able to train. The curriculum is going to be called ‘I Am King’ which stands for my son, Kingston. Being able to train these people to give them the proper help that they need.”

Bolles added that the curriculum should be done at the start of 2026, with the first training session available hopefully by July. He is quick to thank the Broncos’ outreach team for helping him establish a strong connection with the Denver-area community. His main objective is clear.

“I just do it because I truly do love and care for these kids,” Bolles said.