DENVER — Seven years ago, John Elway publicly questioned whether Garrett Bolles knew what a holding penalty was. Bolles not only heard the criticism — he knew his time in the NFL was slipping away

“I was on my way out of the league,” Bolles told The Denver Post.

The Broncos’ left tackle was flagged for 15 holding penalties as a rookie in 2017 and another 14 in 2018, leading the NFL both seasons. A few games into his third season, the organization was growing impatient.

“Does he know what holding is? Does he know what he can and can’t do?” Elway said at the time.

Denver can take Bolles for granted now. Having one of the best tackles in football protecting a franchise quarterback is a luxury most organizations aren’t afforded. At one point, that seemed impossible.

Bolles is off to another strong start this season. He’s allowed just three pressures in 141 pass-blocking sets, according to Pro Football Focus. He hasn’t surrendered a sack, and quarterback Bo Nix has been hit only once because of pressure allowed by his left tackle. Bolles is also the only left tackle in the league with three games this season in which he hasn’t surrendered a pressure, according to Next Gen Stats.

He’s come a long way from thinking his time in the NFL was coming to an end.

“I am a little different. I am a little crazy. I am a little sick in my head, but that’s all right. That’s just who I am and I take pride in that,” Bolles told The Post after the Broncos’ practice on Nov. 4. “I want to be the best to ever play.”

The turnaround began in 2019. Bolles hired a personal consultant to help him prepare. The consultant changed everything, from how he took notes on opposing pass rushers to how he set up before the snap. He also brought in a trainer, a nutritionist and a counselor to help him adjust to the NFL.

Bolles declined to name the mystery consultant. All he would say was that the man had coached in the league for a long time and was like a “father figure.”

Those final two words mean a lot to Bolles. As a child in Utah, he was kicked out of multiple schools, failed classes and was arrested in 2010 for vandalizing a rival high school. Two months after graduating from high school in 2011, his father kicked him out of the house. He ended up staying with his former lacrosse coach and the coach’s wife rather than living on the street.

“I wasn’t perfect. But I was in a situation that wasn’t perfect either, it was hard, doing the things that I did growing up,” Bolles told The Post. “I got a second chance in life.”

That second chance started with a job as a garage door technician before he eventually decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado Springs. When he returned home, he joined the football team at Snow College. He became the No. 1 overall junior college prospect in 2016 before joining the Utah Utes. One year later, the Broncos selected him with the 20th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, and he signed a four-year, $11.01 million contract.

It was a stunning turnaround.

Everything was going right for Bolles until it wasn’t. He led the NFL in holding penalties as a rookie and in his second season, becoming a target of Broncos fans and the familiar refrain at Empower Field: “Holding, offense, No. 72.”

Perhaps that used to bother Bolles. He said the “little things” used to. But now, in his 10th season in Denver, they no longer affect him.

He has three children with his wife, Natalie, and takes that responsibility very seriously. When he arrives home from the Broncos’ practice facility, he spends the first four hours of his evening with his children. He puts them to bed, attends their sporting events and tries to push football thoughts out of his mind. At the same time, he said, his children know their father will be up late watching film and breaking down opposing pass rushers.

That time with his children carries over to Sundays. When Bolles breaks from the huddle and turns his back to Nix, he doesn’t imagine a No. 10 in orange standing behind him. He pictures Natalie, his son, Kingston, and his daughters, Ariyah and Zaya Rae, taking the snap.

“So I do whatever I can to make sure they don’t get touched. And yeah, there’s sometimes predators that get close, and sometimes as an alpha dog you got to handle business,” Bolles said.

He’s doing that extremely well again this season. Bolles has pitched shutouts against strong edge rushers such as George Karlaftis, Josh Hines-Allen, Josh Sweat and Byron Young. The schedule remains daunting: He still has to face Maxx Crosby, T.J. Watt, Greg Rousseau and Khalil Mack. But Denver is clearly comfortable leaving its left tackle on an island and chalking it up as a win.

Backup quarterback Sam Ehlinger said Denver “never has to worry about who (Bolles) is going against.” Guard Quinn Meinerz called Bolles’ pass protection in one-on-one situations a “superpower.” His ability lets the Broncos’ coaching staff change its game plan against opposing pass rushes often, coach Sean Payton said.

“There are times where I’ll say to (Bolles), ‘You got ’em.’ And he can do that,” Payton said.

Bolles said he “dies” for those opportunities.

“Nobody scares me. I respect all these guys, but nothing scares me. I’m not scared to go against those dudes like some people are in the league,” Bolles said. “I think that’s what separates me from everybody else.”

Since Elway’s comments, Bolles has averaged three holding penalties per season, according to The Post’s charting. He was flagged only twice last year, earning a spot on the first-team All-Pro team. However, it wasn’t enough to win him the NFL’s inaugural Protector of the Year award, as he was passed over for Patriots guard Joe Thuney. Bolles said he was not concerned about winning the award this year, but hinted at his qualifications.

“I think it’s hard to play tackle in this league. It’s not an easy situation. I don’t have help on both sides, so it’s a little bit different for me,” Bolles said.

In recent years, questions have come up about whether a left tackle is inherently more crucial than a right tackle. Bolles insisted it is. Ehlinger said Nix has complete trust in the protection he can’t even see.

“They all say ‘Oh, good rushers play on both sides.’ I’m not taking any credit from right tackles, I think it’s a hard position too. But being a left tackle is different,” Bolles said.

It’s even more unique to be doing it at 34 years old. Only Trent Williams, 38, is older than Bolles among the left tackle brotherhood. Dion Dawkins, Jake Matthews, Kolton Miller, Ronnie Stanley and Morgan Moses are among the other tackles still playing solid football at age 30 or older. Bolles has allowed fewer pressures than all of them this season.

Because of his late start, the Utah product has only been in the NFL for a decade, though. He thinks he still has much more time to spend in the league.

When will that time to think about retirement come? Whenever his son tells him to stop.

“And it doesn’t seem like that’s happening anytime soon,” he added.

Denver will hold onto that for as long as it can.

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