*****The Nick Bolton Thread*****

[Dante84]

More to come!

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.

.@_nickbolton2 gets the call from One Arrowhead Drive �� pic.twitter.com/1XgaCeBy8R

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) May 1, 2021

[TheGuardian]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

Wasn't it the Super Bowl last year when Spags credited Nick for wanting to run the McDuffie pressure on 3rd-and-4 that effectively got us the stop we needed to give the ball back to Mahomes?

YESSS!!! THAT WAS IT!!!!

He asked Nick what he thought and Nick called it.

[Bl00dyBizkitz]

Bolton's gonna show up again in the Super Bowl. I'm calling my shot. He's gonna have a big game.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Bl00dyBizkitz

Bolton's gonna show up again in the Super Bowl. I'm calling my shot. He's gonna have a big game.

It's a perfect game for him to show out.

Philly is gonna wanna run the ball and he's going to need to have his guys lined up and gap sound while finishing the plays and taking on blockers to deal with this run game.

He might be fantastic.

He probably needs to be.

[TheGuardian]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's a perfect game for him to show out.

Philly is gonna wanna run the ball and he's going to need to have his guys lined up and gap sound while finishing the plays and taking on blockers to deal with this run game.

He might be fantastic.

He probably needs to be.

Yup. If there was ever a game meant for him it's this one.

[Bl00dyBizkitz]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's a perfect game for him to show out.

Philly is gonna wanna run the ball and he's going to need to have his guys lined up and gap sound while finishing the plays and taking on blockers to deal with this run game.

He might be fantastic.

He probably needs to be.

If it wasn't for him, I'd be extremely worried about Barkley and the whole Eagles offense. I think he's that important.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by RedinTexas

Unless Spags gets a job as a head coach and comes after Bolton.

Spags isn't getting a HC job. Not this cycle at least.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Bl00dyBizkitz

If it wasn't for him, I'd be extremely worried about Barkley and the whole Eagles offense. I think he's that important.

The league is coming back towards his style of play.

It won't be wholesale -- this isn't going to be 80s/90s football where teams are routinely winning championships with dominant running games.

But there ARE teams - more and more of them- that are going to try to win games with their running game. We have one in the West in LAC and probably another with Pete Carroll.

Bolton may actually be a bit undervalued going forward if this trend continues. And man, it is SO easy to find another LB to run alongside him and cover some of those weaknesses in space.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Spags isn't getting a HC job. Not this cycle at least.

Yeah, my memory is that his year in NOLA ended poorly and the same folks are still running that shop.

He ain't going to NOLA.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yeah, my memory is that his year in NOLA ended poorly and the same folks are still running that shop.

He ain't going to NOLA.

Yeah, they fired him after one year. They fielded the worst defense in the NFL and one of the worst in NFL history.

[Wallcrawler]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yeah, they fired him after one year. They fielded the worst defense in the NFL and one of the worst in NFL history.

The win now mentality is crippling these clubs and their quarterbacks. Lot of these kids barely grasp one offense and they're having to purge it and learn a new one with the new regime.

As hot of a commodity as Spags is, let's not forget his defense opened the first half of one of these seasons as an NFL historically bad defense. 100% red zone fail rate. It was ****ing abysmal. Pretty sure it was Boltons rookie year, but Spags had "his guys" out there instead of the talent. Fans actually started a go fund me to buy out Dan Soresons deal lmao.

Anyone running a complicated scheme that takes time for everyone to learn, nobody wants that shit. You win from the jump, or you hit the bricks.

If Spags does take an HC job, the ownership better have some grace, because it's going to get really ****ing ugly before it starts getting good.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Wallcrawler

The win now mentality is crippling these clubs and their quarterbacks. Lot of these kids barely grasp one offense and they're having to purge it and learn a new one with the new regime.

As hot of a commodity as Spags is, let's not forget his defense opened the first half of one of these seasons as an NFL historically bad defense. 100% red zone fail rate. It was ****ing abysmal. Pretty sure it was Boltons rookie year, but Spags had "his guys" out there instead of the talent. Fans actually started a go fund me to buy out Dan Soresons deal lmao.

Anyone running a complicated scheme that takes time for everyone to learn, nobody wants that shit. You win from the jump, or you hit the bricks.

If Spags does take an HC job, the ownership better have some grace, because it's going to get really ****ing ugly before it starts getting good.

That was also the year Honey Badger transformed into Money Badger.

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

The league is coming back towards his style of play.

It won't be wholesale -- this isn't going to be 80s/90s football where teams are routinely winning championships with dominant running games.

But there ARE teams - more and more of them- that are going to try to win games with their running game. We have one in the West in LAC and probably another with Pete Carroll.

Bolton may actually be a bit undervalued going forward if this trend continues. And man, it is SO easy to find another LB to run alongside him and cover some of those weaknesses in space.

For me it's the fact that we're going to be seeing those teams every season in January and our own division.

Bills
Ravens
Lions
Eagles

Top seeds in the bracket this year, excluding the Chiefs of course, and they are all HEAVILY run dependent nowadays. Now, maybe the Bills will shift back the other way with another change in offensive philosophy, but the Ravens, Lions, and Eagles are built that way for the long haul.