Kansas City Chiefs LB Nick Bolton is earning praise as one of the top linebackers in the NFL.
In his annual list of the NFL’s top linebackers, which features 11 players this year, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar listed Bolton as the eighth-best linebacker in the league. The position group is one of the more overlooked on the defensive side of the ball nowadays. The position is still evolving with the modern game, which often plays with five or six defensive backs instead of heavy formations with 2-3 linebackers.
The criteria that Bolton had to meet to make the list:
- Beating blocks and hitting run fits consistently.
- Blitzing effectively from multiple gaps.
- Coverage ability as a middle-of-field or flat defender.
Here’s a look at what Farrar had to say about Bolton’s 2022 campaign:
The Chiefs selected Bolton in the second round of the 2021 draft out of Missouri, and he became one of many young defenders who showed up at exactly the right time for Kansas City’s Super Bowl run. Last season, Bolton had two sacks, five quarterback hits, five quarterback hurries, 142 solo tackles, 61 stops, and he allowed 76 catches on 83 targets for 673 yards, 457 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, one pass breakup, and an opponent passer rating of 94.4.
Of course, Bolton’s most notable play of the 2022 season was the forced fumble, fumble recovery, and fumble return touchdown he scored in Super Bowl LVII. That tied the game early in the second quarter, and it was an obvious difference-maker in the game.
Farrar used three plays to illustrate Bolton’s emergence as one of the league’s best linebackers. First, of course, his Super Bowl LVII forced fumble, recovery and ensuing touchdown return. He should have had two fumbles returned for touchdowns in that game, but I digress,
The second play illustrates how Bolton has grown as a coverage player. He may never be a great man coverage linebacker, but he did a much better job with zone coverage drops last season and limited the damage in the middle of the field.
Finally, Farrar took a look at a play against the Broncos in Week 17, where his blitz rattled Russell Wilson into a terrible throw. The throw almost resulted in an interception by George Karlaftis on a pass batted by Bolton.
You can watch all of those clips over on Touchdown Wire.
Bolton has a bit of a chip on his shoulder heading into the 2023 NFL season. The offense gets a lot of the credit in Kansas City, but the defense played an outsized role in their latest Super Bowl title. Just as he made positive gains from his rookie season to 2022, it’s likely that the upcoming season will be his best year.
