Originally Posted by :
Bolton played in all 13 games as a true freshman (22 tackles, one sack) after earning Dallas Morning News first-team all-state honors at Lone Star High School (130 tackles, 16 for loss, five interceptions). He went from promising youngster to SEC star in 2019, earning first-team all-conference honors after leading the league with 8.9 tackles per game (107 total, 7.5 for loss), intercepting two passes and breaking up eight others in 12 starts. He was named second-team Associated Press All-American, first-team All-SEC and a Butkus Award finalist in 2020, leading his defense with 95 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss (including two sacks), while breaking up five passes in 10 starts. Bolton's father, Carlos, played football at Louisiana Tech. -- by Chad Reuter
Overview
When you think about strong, forceful inside linebackers, Bolton is the type of player you might be envisioning. He's going to fall below typical NFL starter standards from a size standpoint, but his rugged frame and forceful demeanor help make up for it. Play recognition and pursuit instincts help carry him to the football and he's a message-sending striker when he gets the runner squared up. He has functional short-area burst between the tackles but will struggle to run down the outside run if he's not close enough to the action. He will need to lean heavier on his instincts to help speed him up because of size and speed limitations. Bolton plays with good field recognition when dropping into zone and has a history of making plays on the football in coverage. He's a three-down linebacker who can make an immediate contribution on special teams and has the potential to become a future starter. Strengths
Very tough with a physical edge.
Plays with demeanor teams look for in the middle.
Field-savvy with instincts to diagnose misdirection.
Identifies and communicates.
Heavy hands with good pop to take on blocks.
Pursues ball-carrier with patience and leverage.
Fluid alterations to his pursuit angles.
Excellent feel for attack timing downhill.
Meets runners with violent collisions in the hole.
Strikes like he's trying to send a message.
Great awareness and ballhawking as spot dropper.
Has enough man-cover talent to play on all three downs.
Thrived on kick- and punt-cover teams early in his career.
Weaknesses
Average lateral quickness traps him behind climbing blocks.
Inconsistent to strike and separate from blockers.
Needs to improve angles to elude box traffic.
Might need to take a few more chances as a pro.
Top-end speed appears below average.
Loses ground when pursuit flows wide.
Below-average lateral agility as open-field tackler.
Will have to play quicker to deal with NFL slashers.
Originally Posted by dlphg9:
People get too caught up on combine numbers. The combine for the most part doesn't matter. He's going to bring more nastiness to the D and I love it. Can't wait to see him crush a few RBs.
Yep...you don't have to run a 4.4 when you can easily diagnose the play and see where the hole is. That's NBs stock-in-trade. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Kiimosabi:
I had hopes of JOK or Zaven falling to us.
Laughable now in retrospect. Clearly Arizona saw what I saw in Zaven, just an absolute monster. Yet another LB that's going to put up insane numbers in Glendale.
That said, Bolton could be great. He may be small and his 3 cone might not wow anybody but he's got a lion's heart kind of like Mathieu. Man I was wrong about Honey Badger, I still don't know how he does it.
What the fuck is Zaven going to play? MLB? He’s 270 lbs now and they just took Simmons high last year. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Woogieman:
I think very few here had even heard of Speaks, not just because he was from Ol' Miss, but because he wasn't very distinguished. Bolton was the SEC leading tackler in 2019 and 2-Time All-SEC with a mediocre D-line. Very different body of work coming in.
Several of us had heard of Speaks. He was a consensus 2nd-team All-SEC player his senior season and was actually pretty productive while playing both DT and DE. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Woogieman:
Poor receiver just got dragged down, like the two Vols players that got knocked out of the game. Who knew a good dragging could be so violent?
If you listen to Kent and the other AP draft guys they were almost in tears about us getting Bolton (and Creed) lol it's just pathetic :-) . According to them he's just a "two down back who does what Hitchens does"...smh and these guys do draft guides for Chiefs fans??? Yes Nick is not an all world guy in coverage yet but he certainly has shown the talent to cover his man and get ints so I don't know what they are talking about. Infact Zerline from nfl draft rated Bolton higher than he did Darius Leonard and says he's a three down back so we'll see who is right in the end. [Reply]
They’re kinda right though. Bolton does most things well. He isn’t great at anything physically and when you see him on tape. He’s a high floor, low ceiling player.
I guess you could say he’s very smart and that’s fine, but so is Hitchens and he’s kinda just there.
Originally Posted by RunKC:
They’re kinda right though. Bolton does most things well. He isn’t great at anything physically and when you see him on tape. He’s a high floor, low ceiling player.
I guess you could say he’s very smart and that’s fine, but so is Hitchens and he’s kinda just there.
I think Gay has way more potential
He’s absolutely great at playing downhill and knocking people the fuck out.
To just shrug off the mental aspect is retarded. The coaches have always spoken about Hitchens intelligence and ability to be a coach on the field since day 1. It’s extremely valuable for them, and it’s obvious why.
Bolton also has much more upside than Hitchens. He plays a lot faster/quicker, and he’s already probably better in coverage. His ball skills are also significantly better, so I’d expect him to make more plays in coverage than Hitchens ever has.
Would you rather pay Hitchens type of money again or get a much cheaper option with more upside on a rookie deal? It’s a position that had to be addressed this year or next, so I really don’t understand what the issue is at all. [Reply]
Originally Posted by UChieffyBugger:
If you listen to Kent and the other AP draft guys they were almost in tears about us getting Bolton (and Creed) lol it's just pathetic :-) . According to them he's just a "two down back who does what Hitchens does"...smh and these guys do draft guides for Chiefs fans??? Yes Nick is not an all world guy in coverage yet but he certainly has shown the talent to cover his man and get ints so I don't know what they are talking about. Infact Zerline from nfl draft rated Bolton higher than he did Darius Leonard and says he's a three down back so we'll see who is right in the end.
Those clowns do not know jack about football. Why anyone would care about their opinion us beyond me. He's absolutely a 3 down backer. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RunKC:
They’re kinda right though. Bolton does most things well. He isn’t great at anything physically and when you see him on tape. He’s a high floor, low ceiling player.
I guess you could say he’s very smart and that’s fine, but so is Hitchens and he’s kinda just there.
I think Gay has way more potential
They aren't right...at all. It's like they either haven't seen him play or most likely gave no fucking clue what they are looking at. We got our Darius Leonard type . [Reply]
Originally Posted by RunKC:
They’re kinda right though. Bolton does most things well. He isn’t great at anything physically and when you see him on tape. He’s a high floor, low ceiling player.
I guess you could say he’s very smart and that’s fine, but so is Hitchens and he’s kinda just there.
I think Gay has way more potential
They said the same thing about Mathieu.
Sometimes guys are just really good at football. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brother:
They aren't right...at all. It's like they either haven't seen him play or most likely gave no ****ing clue what they are looking at. We got our Darius Leonard type .
Bolton isn't a workout warrior, which is why he was available when we picked. [Reply]
