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 pugsnotdrugs19:
The pick shouldn’t have surprised anyone really that much, especially when you take a step back.
We had a giant hole at one of base LB positions.
We were one injury away to Hitch or Gay from seeing Ben Niemann FULL TIME. That is how your defense takes a turn for the worst fast.
We needed a long term solution to take over for Hitchens when he is a cap casualty next year.
As Franchise pointed out, if Bolton becomes 2020 Anthony Hitchens, that’s a great pick. A guy who is a great leader and does a solid to good job in all phases, lines everyone up (making everyone else better).
He doesn’t need to be the athletic run-and-chase freak LB, we need Gay to become that guy. And Bolton will make a lot of plays that way too I think, but it’s the intangible stuff he really is coming in to take over once Hitchens is moved on.
At WORST, it's a lateral move that frees up a big chunk of cap space.
I can't believe people actually hate this pick that much.
It's every bit the pick that Humphrey was.
Humphrey could be a stalwart OL for 10 years , Bolton could be love/hate player having decent to solid games then having absolutely dreadful games questioning if he can blackmail the FO & Coaching staff with pictures of them participating in a Mexican donkey show. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare:
Humphrey could be a stalwart OL for 10 years , Bolton could be love/hate player having decent to solid games then having absolutely dreadful games questioning if he can blackmail the FO & Coaching staff with pictures of them participating in a Mexican donkey show.
Sorry man, you're letting emotion cloud your judgement.
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
Sorry man, you're letting emotion cloud your judgement.
Your last sentence is pure nonsense.
That's what he'll be a Peaks and valley's player because of his average athletic ability because if he reads a play wrong he's fucked because he can't recover [Reply]
Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare:
That's what he'll be a Peaks and valley's player because of his average athletic ability because if he reads a play wrong he's fucked because he can't recover
He was an all-SEC linebacker known for being the opposite of up and down.
Have you even watched him play? Go read some scouting reports, you'll find that what you're saying has no basis in actual reality. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare:
How's that? If there aren't any weaknesses to his game then he'd be a 1st round pick.
Hence the love-hate element.
There are weaknesses to his game. "Up and down" isn't one of them, however. Neither is lack of speed.
His biggest weakness is how he processes the game and the fact that he is somewhat hesitant in his reads. That can be coached.
He also lacks ideal size but that has nothing to do with closing speed.
As for him being a 1st round pick, he was a 1st round pick on nearly every board out there.
Sorry man but you're way off base here. There are definitely things about his game that aren't ideal but "inconsistent" isn't even close to being a problem. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
There are weaknesses to his game. "Up and down" isn't one of them, however. Neither is lack of speed.
His biggest weakness is how he processes the game and the fact that he is somewhat hesitant in his reads. That can be coached.
He also lacks ideal size but that has nothing to do with closing speed.
As for him being a 1st round pick, he was a 1st round pick on nearly every board out there.
Sorry man but you're way off base here. There are definitely things about his game that aren't ideal but "inconsistent" isn't even close to being a problem.
His short area speed is worse than Tamba's, but we'll find out if he's maxed out but some of you are acting like he's a future all-pro. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare:
His short area speed is worse than Tamba's, but we'll find out if he's maxed out but some of you are acting like he's a future all-pro.
This is exactly what I'm talking about.
I never said he was a future all-pro. In fact, if you had actually been paying attention instead of making up stuff to bitch about, you'd know that I've said I don't think he'll be an all-pro. I don't think he has that kind of upside.
You've given in to histrionics man. Come back to reality. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
This is exactly what I'm talking about.
I never said he was a future all-pro. In fact, if you had actually been paying attention instead of making up stuff to bitch about, you'd know that I've said I don't think he'll be an all-pro. I don't think he has that kind of upside.
You've given in to histrionics man. Come back to reality.
Not bitching at all, but just want individuals to temper their expectations, because if the safe football player moniker is telling what to expect. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare:
Not bitching at all, but just want individuals to temper their expectations, because if the safe football player moniker is telling what to expect.
Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare:
His short area speed is worse than Tamba's.
Yeah but...what are you basing this off of? [Reply]
He’s a straight line short area speed type of player. As in you better make the right read because his lateral and side to side speed is below average [Reply]