I ****ing love Nick Bolton
 

I was wrong about the guy. What a ****ing game.

14 tackles, 3 passes defended including a crucial stop and forced INT, a QB hit and 2 run stops at the LOS.

Tip of the cap to you young man. We’ve got a ****ing stud!

He's real good at football.

Great draft pick. I wanted Basham and I’m an idiot.

He just has that “it” factor.

People like you were too concerned with the measurables. Dude is a football player and a playmaker. It’s simple.

I think all MU fans have said all season he was a great draft pick. Dude is a baller, period.

Dude is a stud

I tried telling you guys before the draft. He's special.

His football instincts are priceless

Balled the **** out tonight!

Something something position value.

Like, let's say the Chiefs only ever play him on 2 downs like some people suggested he'd be in the NFL. They don't play him as a 2 down guy. But if they DID... explain how it's not a huge boost to a defense to have this guy on the field on 1st and 2nd down.

Love Bolton...

Where was Gay tonight? I mean, I don't think he played.. not sure why.

Him and Gay together is going to be nasty for years

COVID

Let's phase out Hitchens and play Bolton full time.

Monster tonight. Absolute monster

Phase out Niemann... he made a couple plays tonight, but he was limping around and (like MOST the defense) always seemed to get dragged for yards by the running backs.

kansas city football mother****in' team. Goddamn team but Mahomes was brilliant.

We're not ****ing irrational homers like them others. We call it for how it is.

Told you ****ers he will be a good one.

NEED MORE BOLTONS

Thanks...

So we played without Sneed, Jones, and Gay and still won.. nice.

Lord Bolton to you.

This guy had 4 rockets up his butt all night long. Dude was in the backfield almost every play. And this is our SECOND best young linebacker LMAO Going from Hitchens/Damien Wilson to Bolton/Gay in the blink of eye is so, so nice.

Dude is bad ass!

He’s awesome. Already better than Hitchens has ever been in KC.

Our run defense was bad tonight though, but that’s probably due to no Jones/Gay/Sneed. Tough to replace 3 starters.

That’s a joke right?

I ****ing love Nick Bolton
 

I celebrate his entire catalogue!

He and Gay are going to be a force for a long time. They're only going to get better.

Can't remember any player out of Mizzou having such an immediate impact on the field. Glad he's still doing it in Missouri!

Dude hates everyone. And I love him for it.

Mother****er balls the **** out.

And he’s only a rookie :)

Nick Bolton is a ****ing beast!

Love my Mizzou guy showing out in the Pros!!


We can most definitely say goodbye to Hitchens after this season.

Nick Bolton is the answer to the question we’ve been asking for years.

Gay & Bolton will keep this linebacking core STRONG for many years!

Bolton and Gay are perfectly complementary. Our linebackers are strong when those guys are on the field together.

All out ****ing baller tonight, really stepped up when he needed too. All over the field.............

I’m 1000% in on this guy! Dude is unbelievably good!

Finally a guy who can ****ing tackle

Bolton just brings it. Every play! I love it!

best thumper we've had since belcher

I love him too! Let's nominate a CP'er to blow him!

Volunteers please quote this post!


Edit: If no volunteers, OP takes on the task!

As I've noted since he was drafted, he's a ****ing badass. His play at Mizzou told you all you needed to know.

Reminds me of a Ray Lewis light. Hits HARD, crashes HARD into gaps. I like

He's a damn stud! Period!

And 100% less murder-suicide-y!!

He just keeps making plays and is everywhere. It is so nice to hit on a guy like this. :clap:

We HAD a LB problem. Not anymore. Bolton + Gay = studs. I'm a fan of having at least one playmaker per level. Jones is our DL playmaker, Mathieu is our secondary playmaker (Sneed as well tbh), and now we have two at the second level. :)

Stud! How big was it for him to step up big with Gay being out. Incredible performance



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nick Bolton recorded the highest overall grade of his career last night with a 90.4 per <a href="https://twitter.com/PFF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PFF</a>. It also happened to be his highest snap total. He recorded 14 tackles, 1 batted pass that resulted in an INT, and allowed 5 receptions for just 35 yards on 35 coverage snaps. <a href="https://t.co/YzxKYSjr17">pic.twitter.com/YzxKYSjr17</a></p>&mdash; Arrowhead Live (@ArrowheadLive) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArrowheadLive/status/1471848013819789313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I love this kid. You can see the progress with him every game. He and Gay make a phenomenal team.

He's forcing Spags to play him. It's comforting to know he's only a rookie, he's getting better and KC has him for 3 more years under contract.

I liked this pick the day they made it. Special player and he's going to be a big part of this defense doing forward.

Since belcher? That would imply Belcher was better.

Nice troll attempt.

I love that when he hits an opposing player, they pretty much just stop. So different from watching our LBers being drug downfield for multiple yards.

All of the LB's play better when Bolton is out there. Hitchens looks so much better next to Bolton and even Niemann had a decent game last night, including the stuff at the GL that led to the fumble.

Dibs

He's so damn fun to watch. He's just giving 100% all the time and actually has the skills to accompany the effort.

Too many morons on here let the college rivalry hatred cloud their judgement

I think this tandem is what is exciting. Bolton looks excellent at what he does well, but he's not good in coverage. But that's more than OK if Gay stays healthy and continues to develop.

Yes. He’s the anti Donnie Edwards. He just stonewalls people.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NICK TIP ➡️ HITCH PICK<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProBowlVote?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProBowlVote</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/AnthonyHitchens?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnthonyHitchens</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProBowlVote?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProBowlVote</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/_nickbolton2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_nickbolton2</a> <a href="https://t.co/wNWjYveyKm">pic.twitter.com/wNWjYveyKm</a></p>&mdash; Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1471659827269095435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chiefs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chiefs</a> Nick Bolton comes up big, forced the ball out from Mike Williams, who heads to the medical tent after, shaken up. <br><br>Chargers recover the ball and take another shot at a TD. <a href="https://t.co/WLgX1QOHQp">pic.twitter.com/WLgX1QOHQp</a></p>&mdash; Hayley Lewis �� (@HayleyLewisKSHB) <a href="https://twitter.com/HayleyLewisKSHB/status/1471654121895870468?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH: Former <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mizzou?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mizzou</a> standout Nick Bolton continues to dominate in this Thursday Night Football game. He&#39;s been unbelievable! <a href="https://t.co/U2pHr98qRe">pic.twitter.com/U2pHr98qRe</a></p>&mdash; Andrew Kauffman (@AndrewABC17) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewABC17/status/1471681073306345473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bolton is going to lead the league in tackles at least one year before his contract is up. I think he had 14 tackles against the Titans, too, the only other game (I believe) where he's been asked to play full time.

That being said, that wasn't even the best linebacker play of the day. The best play was, in my opinion, the Niemann stop on 4th and goal.

He rose up and completely stymied the RB, and then somehow came away with the ball.

Yep and yep.

Just MU fans? :hmmm:

I'm a KU fan but I really like what he brings to the Chiefs. Between he and Willie Gay, I think the Chiefs have a great LBer group for now and the future.

If you're going to spend two 2nd rounders on LBers, you better (a.) nail the picks, and (b.) have a really fantastic LB corps a year or two down the line.

Veach has seemingly checked both of those boxes.

Going to be exciting to see them grow into Pro Bowlers.

Like I said earlier, Bolton's presence bolsters the entire LB group. Niemann is playing better, he's had some heads up plays the last few weeks.

Hell, even Sorenson has turned it around.

This defense is finally getting it. They did what they had to do missing 2 of their best defenders plus their most athletic LB.

I love this team.

This past draft looks like a big win for the team. 3 guys starting, all 3 playing at a super high level.

Plus notice how many snaps Noah Gray is getting now? He was seemingly on the field all the time last night. It's only a matter of time before he starts getting some targets.

That may be true but let's not pretend that people aren't homers about their school's players, as well.

As for me, I don't care where a player played in college. If he improves the Chiefs, then I'm happy. And Bolton is a huge upgrade. :thumb:

I THINK Mizzou fans on here were pretty consistent and realistic about Bolton... that he was a big-time thumper/tackler whose excellent (exceptional?) instincts allowed him to make up for his less-than-imposing physical skills.

As a MLB (his future, as soon as 2023, IMO), you just need him to be able to defend the pass well enough to make things happen. He's getting to that point, and he's so phenomenal coming downhill against the run and such a SURE and emphatic tackler that it makes him a really plus defender.

I think we'd be seeing Kaindoh in the rotation if he weren't on IR, too.

I remain bullish on Gray.

There was too much smoke around him this preseason for that to go nowhere.

Love the Bolton/Gay combo. Only question is whether Gay can stay healthy over the long haul.

Lets face it - this offense is tough to learn. We know this.

It was always going to take some time but his snap counts suggest that the coaching staff is trusting him more and more week-to-week.

He's going to break out eventually.

The last 2 drafts have been incredible. Just amazing.

Sneed and Gay have star potential, Niang is okay as a rookie RT and Danna is a nice rotational player.

Oh and they got Wharton in rookie free agency.

It’s amazing that our first rd pick is our worst value of that draft and it’s still awesome

Honestly if we drafted Sneed in the 1st and CEH in the 4th, nobody would complain.

Are we talking about him taking over for Hitchens? Why couldn't he do that starting next season?

Precisely.

Sometimes it happens.

It's like the Raiders with Ferrell and Crosby. They both play to the other's draft status. It happens.

He could take over right now but I imagine he will next season since Hitchens' dead money drops from $14M to $4M after this year.

Agree. This last year has really changed my mind on things. I used to think positional versatility was wise but getting good players matters more, especially if you don’t reach for a position simply based on the position.

Nick Bolton is the perfect example of that

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My biggest takeaways for KC last night. The 3 stars (Mahomes, Kelce, Tyreek) took over the game in 4Q/OT but the play of LB Nick Bolton allowed them to have that opportunity. He made 5-6 crucial plays in first 2 1/2 quarters to keep this game from getting WAY away from them.</p>&mdash; Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoveTheSticks/status/1471862179133464577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The thing is, the two concepts are complimentary.

Having a true FS like Thornhill, for example, allows you to play a versatile guy like Matthieu. Having a guy like Bolton allows you to take better advantage of Gay's athleticism and versatility.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It was expected that Bolton would have an uptick in snaps this week, getting nickel reps next to Hitchens in place of Gay.<br><br>It was a bit of a surprise to see him get *DIME* reps all night long. Kudos to him for stepping up into that role after barely playing it this year! <a href="https://t.co/Ag6PoBoCGY">https://t.co/Ag6PoBoCGY</a></p>&mdash; Craig Stout (@barleyhop) <a href="https://twitter.com/barleyhop/status/1471863492961607685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>