Omar

Bolden

Bolden had second-day grades from NFL scouts before missing all of the 2011 season with a torn left ACL. He worked out before the draft, and ran a respectable 4.52 12 months removed from the blown-out knee. The Broncos did a ton of homework on Bolden before the draft, so they are comfortable with his medical. He goes 5-foot-10 1/2 and 203 pounds, and was a 35-game starter at ASU.

Bolden wasn’t 100 percent as recently as the Combine, but has since made the final strides. Bolden is an excellent cover corner when healthy, but should see few defensive snaps as a rookie as he gets back to football speed. An excellent kick returner for the Sun Devils, Bolden should be in the mix there.

Eric Decker is a capable punt returner, but the Broncos want him to focus on offense. Although he’s known for his 125-catch 2011 season, Page had three kick and one punt return touchdowns at Toledo. Omar Bolden and Cassius Vaughn are the favorites to return kicks.

Bolden is coming off his second ACL surgery, dropping his draft grade from potentially the late first round to No. 101 overall. Coach John Fox said the former Arizona State star “definitely looked like a first-round type of talent” in rookie minicamp. Bolden is expected to compete for return duties and sub-package work this season.

“You bet,” Elway said. “He’s a fighter. His comment to me was that he is going to come back for next season and take somebody’s job.” Bolden tore his ACL twice in college, but stayed healthy as a rookie while racking up ten special teams tackles. He’d battle Chris Harris and Tony Carter opposite Champ Bailey.

A 2012 fourth rounder, Bolden is in a fight for his roster spot. Bolden saw just 81 snaps on defense as a rookie, and was ineffective. Beat writer Mike Klis believes Bolden and Quentin Jammer are squaring off for one roster spot.

After playing virtually every snap through the first 12 games of the season, Ihenacho saw just 22-of-51 snaps on Sunday. Omar Bolden stepped in at free safety while Mike Adams shifted from free to strong safety. “We wanted to look at Omar,” coach John Fox said. “We took a look at some other guys a little bit to develop that throughout the rest of the season.”

This is a surprising move considering Bolden both played for coach John Fox in Denver and was given an $80,000 signing bonus in March. A quality special teamer, Bolden will likely find a new home during training camp.

Bolden was converted to a rotational safety last season, playing on a career-high 211 snaps. With T.J. Ward, Rahim Moore, Quinton Carter, and Duke Ihenacho locked in as the Broncos’ top four safeties, Bolden’s best chance at making the team could be as the No. 5 corner. A 2012 fourth-round pick, Bolden will remain a deep reserve if he keeps his roster spot.

To make matters worse, Bruton’s backup Omar Bolden later departed with a foot injury, leaving heavy snaps for Josh Bush. Both players have just four days to get healthy for Denver’s Week 2 trip to Kansas City. It’s quite likely Bush will be getting the start at Arrowhead Stadium.