KC Chiefs rookie and Mizzou Tigers product Bolton will play key role in season opener
With Willie Gay Jr. on injured reserve, the Chiefs will get a good look at rookie linebacker Nick Bolton throughout Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns at Arrowhead Stadium.
Bolton, the team’s second-round pick out of Missouri in the 2021 NFL Draft, is the presumed next man up in place of Gay, who has an injured toe.
The Chiefs don’t appear concerned about putting the rookie Bolton in the spotlight — even, potentially, in their starting linebacker rotation.
“Nick had a good preseason,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s worthy of stepping in there and playing, so he’ll get playing time.”
Bolton projects to be on the field alongside Anthony Hitchens and Ben Niemann whenever the Chiefs are in a 4-3 base defense, while Hitchens and Niemann are likely to remain on the field in nickel packages. The Chiefs also have linebackers Dorian O’Daniel and Darius Harris on their active 53-player roster.
Whatever role the Chiefs have in mind for the 6-foot, 232-pound Bolton, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo believes the rookie can handle it based on Kansas City’s three preseason games, in which Bolton totaled seven tackles on 55 defensive snaps.
“When he played in the three preseason games, it felt like to me that the game wasn’t too big for him,” Spagnuolo said. “I don’t see why that would change in this game. We’re confident in what he does.”
Bolton had the Chiefs’ confidence even before the draft because of what he did in a Tigers uniform, totaling 220 tackles (139 solo), four sacks, two interceptions and 12 passes defensed in three seasons at Missouri.
There could be a learning curve Sunday, of course, as Bolton will experience his first live NFL action in a game that counts. But the Chiefs believe he can adjust quickly because two veteran linebackers will be on the field alongside him.
“Mentally, will he make rookie mistakes? Yeah, they all do, right?” Spagnuolo said. “They’re all going to make them, but he plays alongside a guy, Hitch, who can help him out a lot, and Ben. So I think the combination of those three, hopefully, will help get the job done. We’re anxious to see what they can do.”
Hitchens shares his defensive coordinator’s enthusiasm.
“He’s definitely ready,” Hitchens said of Bolton. “You guys have seen him in preseason and throughout camp. The guy, he’s a ball-player, he’s a natural, he’s smart. He doesn’t make the same mistakes twice, he owns up to his mistakes.
“A guy like that, you can count on.”
