Nick Bolton had a crash course in NFL linebacker play with the Kansas City Chiefs during his rookie season.
When Willie Gay Jr. suffered a toe injury during the preseason, Bolton stepped into his role seamlessly. Bolton filled in for an injured Anthony Hitchens at MIKE linebacker from Week 6 through Week 8. All in all his contributions were worthy of recognition as the team’s Mack Lee Hill Rookie of the Year winner over standouts on offense like Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith.
While Chiefs linebackers coach Brendan Daly was working with the defensive line last season, he was still in defensive meetings with Bolton. Daly came away impressed with what he saw back then, but now that he’s had some hands-on time with Bolton, he has come away quite impressed.
Daly detailed the growth that he’s seen in Bolton in a very short time while speaking to the media at OTAs last week.
“I would say this — I was very impressed with Nick (Bolton) a year ago — particularly from a mental standpoint,” Daly said. “He’s one of the people that the more you’re around them, the more impressed you become with them. He’s grown from a mental standpoint, he’s grown from a communication standpoint, he’s grown from a leadership standpoint. It’s been really fun to watch and impressive, to be honest. It’s pretty amazing the amount that he’s handling at such a young age. There are times I need to (remind myself) he’s only in his second year now. That’s been fun to see, it is.”
To receive such high praise from a coach that took over the position just a few months ago shows exactly how Bolton goes about his business. He’s already been able to show tangible growth in certain areas of his game from a season ago.
Bolton figures to be the Chiefs’ defensive signal-caller and MIKE linebacker in 2022. His growth in the mental aspect of the game, as a communicator and as a leader will enable him to follow up a successful rookie season with even greater levels of success.
