All you have to do is look at Ty Sambrailo's career arc to see just how rapidly the landscape changes for a young NFL player.

At this time two years ago, he appeared to be the clear-cut future option at left tackle, thrust into the starting lineup after Pro Bowler Ryan Clady tore his anterior cruciate ligament during an OTA session.

Now, as he faces the third training camp that is so often the crucial juncture for a young NFL player, he finds himself locked in a battle with first-round pick Garett Bolles for the left tackle job. Sambrailo and Bolles split first-team repetitions during the final week of minicamp, and could have a similar division of duties once training camp begins.

Nevertheless, an opportunity is still something of value for Sambrailo, given what he has endured since he opened the 2015 season as a rookie starter.

That stint lasted just three games before he tore his labrum in Detroit. The injury sent him down a frustrating path, through several months spent rehabilitating from the injury, a position change and a training-camp elbow injury last summer that cost him a chance to compete for a starting job.

The frustrations peaked during brief, frustrating appearances at right tackle last season in which he allowed multiple sacks -- with most of his work coming against a pair of recent Pro Bowlers, Atlanta's Vic Beasley Jr. and Kansas City's Justin Houston.

Given that Sambrailo was still working from behind without the benefit of a full offseason in the weight room, he was working at a decided disadvantage last year, and it showed on the field.

Now Sambrailo is the healthiest and strongest he has been at any point since his first training camp, which gives him a chance in his battle with Bolles.

"He's looked athletic this offseason," Head Coach Vance Joseph said during OTAs. "He's getting his strength back ... He's coming along great."

Bolles has the first-round pedigree, and wasn't drafted to ride the bench. But Sambrailo was a high draft pick, too, and if he can avoid the injuries that have plagued him to this point, he could finally show the athletic potential that the Broncos liked so much when they drafted him out of Colorado State.