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.
Bolton is awesome. Fuck all the pre-draft bullshit. You put this fucker on the field, he makes plays. Give me 21 guys like that with Pat at QB and we'll win another couple Super Bowls.
It will be interesting to see if Bolton and Gay can stay healthy. We might see a bit of a shift to LBs being the strength of the defense, which hasn't been the case since Houston, Hali and DJ were around and we were running the 3-4. [Reply]
Love how people bitched about us drafting a LB, when our run D was trash and our LBs we're trash.
"It's not a position of value!", people were saying. The fuck if it isn't. We've had good D lines, good secondaries, but have lacked good LBs. Now we got 2 studs on rookie deals that only cost us a couple of 1nd round picks. Hell yeah! [Reply]
Originally Posted by dlphg9:
Love how people bitched about us drafting a LB, when our run D was trash and our LBs we're trash.
"It's not a position of value!", people were saying. The **** if it isn't. We've had good D lines, good secondaries, but have lacked good LBs. Now we got 2 studs on rookie deals that only cost us a couple of 1nd round picks. Hell yeah!
Originally Posted by dlphg9:
Love how people bitched about us drafting a LB, when our run D was trash and our LBs we're trash.
"It's not a position of value!", people were saying. The **** if it isn't. We've had good D lines, good secondaries, but have lacked good LBs. Now we got 2 studs on rookie deals that only cost us a couple of 1nd round picks. Hell yeah!
I was Bolton all the way. I was utterly shocked he said that far. :-)
Not gonna lie though. I had no idea who Creed Humphrey was. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Superturtle:
I just said I hated the guy because Season 8 of Game of Thrones was his favorite, and I still stand by that. What the actual fuck, mate?
Well I mean.....I can't fucking defend that... [Reply]
