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 RunKC:
Watching this guy again and he’s really starting to grow. He had another TFL as well as a “no gain” stop yesterday. That was after having 2 TFL’s last week. So he’s got 5 TFL’s in 6 games.
He’s our best tackler IMO. The guy knows how to wrap up and simply doesn’t miss often. And he is very smart. Watching him pre-snap he can tell the formation and what angles he’s gonna need.
No he’s no super athletic but playing in the middle doesn’t require that.
I think this guy was definitely a hit and will be a rock solid productive player for a long time. And again this is from someone who didn’t like the pick when it was made
"Where are the Pro Bowlers, Veach??!!!!! Draft us All Pros, you phony!!!!! Dorsey was better!!!!"
When you draft in the bottom of the first and have used half of your 1st rounders in trades while another one was traded before you became GM, getting a handful of halfway decent starters at a few interior positions isn't bad at all. A solid 4-3 Mike backer isn't glamorous, but if they're a significant notch better than dudes like Nico Johnson and give you competence and consistency, that's a good use of a 2nd round pick. Same goes for the Humphrey pick. If he's a solid starting C, that's a good 2nd round pick. If he's a future Pro Bowler (which he could be) that's a GREAT pick, even at C.
Sorry Veach hasn't unearthed a 15-sack edge rusher or a true WR1 with his late 2nd round picks and beyond in the draft, people. In the meantime, he HAS found many good players that can be good contributors on a Super Bowl team. You can criticize him for the reasons why he has only had one first round pick in his time as GM, but to bitch about the lack of All Pros and studs from his drafts given what he's had is kind of moronic. [Reply]
This dude currently leads the team in solo tackles, total tackles, and tackles for loss. Not bad for a rookie taken late in the second round. It's pretty obvious at this point that Veach nailed this and the Humphrey pick. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
But using pick 58 on him leads to those expectations. Because off ball LBs aren't high positional value you need a high level of production to make the pick worth it.
It's hard to have positional value concerns when you are trying to replace dog shit in the lineup. Would a better positional value pick have been a fourth corner for the team? Perhaps. But our LB corps was a wasteland. So good pick Vertch! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
But using pick 58 on him leads to those expectations. Because off ball LBs aren't high positional value you need a high level of production to make the pick worth it.
A smart competent LB who is the QB of the defense is definitely worth it for the 58th pick.
Again we do need some stars and that’s what 1st rd picks and FA is for, but getting very good players in general is the goal.
Mahomes already gives us a huge advantage over the majority of teams. Having good players in general is what helps. They don’t. All need to be stars.
We just need to avoid Breeland Speaks type draft picks. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
But using pick 58 on him leads to those expectations. Because off ball LBs aren't high positional value you need a high level of production to make the pick worth it.
Originally Posted by Mecca:
But using pick 58 on him leads to those expectations. Because off ball LBs aren't high positional value you need a high level of production to make the pick worth it.
If people are expecting pick 58 to be an All Pro because he is not a high value position, they are being unrealistic. [Reply]
I liked the pick, thought he was a high floor not massively high ceiling type. I don't think he's been that good, but I still think he'll be a solid player. He's come on board with an absolute dumpster fire at DL and a player next to him whose meant to be the general and looks completely clueless. Plus it's a hard position to come in and rip it up from the get go - there aren't going to be many JOKs. Still optimistic. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RunKC:
Watching this guy again and he’s really starting to grow. He had another TFL as well as a “no gain” stop yesterday. That was after having 2 TFL’s last week. So he’s got 5 TFL’s in 6 games.
He’s our best tackler IMO. The guy knows how to wrap up and simply doesn’t miss often. And he is very smart. Watching him pre-snap he can tell the formation and what angles he’s gonna need.
No he’s no super athletic but playing in the middle doesn’t require that.
I think this guy was definitely a hit and will be a rock solid productive player for a long time. And again this is from someone who didn’t like the pick when it was made
He's going to get better. Granted you probably don't want him covering Noah Fant for 30+ yards but I really do think he's going to erase a lot of the bad run D when the light fully turns on.
Watching him play has been kind of like seeing everything you hear about why Ben Neimann is on the field but he's actually athletic enough to make a few plays . [Reply]
