Nick Bolton

[Direckshun]

Here's an interesting, perhaps-purely-academic question.

Nick Bolton was our pick at the bottom of the 2nd round. I was lukewarm on this selection at the time. I viewed him as the replacement strategy for Anthony Hitchens, and I saw him as a capable ILB. But, like Hitchens, I saw him as a two down LB, and I still think that view is warranted, given how weak he seems in coverage.

That being said, we've seen him get a ton of reps now, and he's had a good month, to say the least.

The potential we now see in him is still a player who is a liability in coverage, and probably always will be, but can probably make strides to make that a slight weakness rather than a glaring one in the long run.

In everything else: his ability to captain the defense, fill gaps, pound the run, and be the always-around-the-ball Mike that every defense needs... he's doing well right now and we can all expect, I think, that this will continue long term, barring health issues.

My projection of him, when we drafted him, was that maybe he can become a slight upgrade over Anthony Hitchens -- and that simply isn't worth a 2nd round pick.

But we've now seen a month of him playing damn well as a linebacker, and I think his projection could very well be London Fletcher. I mean, he may very well end up leading the league in tackles a couple times.

So here's the academic question, because it doesn't matter with Bolton anymore, but will matter in future drafts:

Is that worth a 2nd round pick?

You can get smart, physical linebackers that suck against the pass everywhere in the draft, but if you can nab one at the bottom of the 2nd, what're your thoughts?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by HC_Chief

Yep, great pick! Bolton + Gay = we actually have a couple of decent to good LBs WITH UPSIDE!!!!!!!!!!! Now we need Gay to stay healthy, and add another LB to replace Hitchens. Add more depth as well so we can get rid of that POS, Niemann.

Bolton will replace Hitchens.

We need a Will.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Bolton will replace Hitchens.

We need a Will.

Gay plays Will a lot it would appear to me. I would also think, given his speed and athleticism that would be the best fit for him. He's got the size to play SAM, though.

[O.city]

One of my favorite Nick Bolton plays to date that sums him up. Clark crashes down and beats the tackle. Bolton finishes off the tackle with authority. Woo. pic.twitter.com/W5KxkNdwk2

— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) November 11, 2021

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by O.city

One of my favorite Nick Bolton plays to date that sums him up. Clark crashes down and beats the tackle. Bolton finishes off the tackle with authority. Woo. pic.twitter.com/W5KxkNdwk2

— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) November 11, 2021

Ow. Those hurt, no matter who you are.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Gay plays Will a lot it would appear to me. I would also think, given his speed and athleticism that would be the best fit for him. He's got the size to play SAM, though.

They originally wanted him to play Sam and that's where they put him last year behind Wilson.

I think he's better suited for the weak side as well but we'll see, the kid has size and speed, he could probably play both sides just fine.

[O.city]

I'd like Gay at the will with Bolton in the middle and look for a SAm this offseason.

And that Bolton hit is what this defense needs. Too many times it's guys standing around while another dude makes a tackle.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

They originally wanted him to play Sam and that's where they put him last year behind Wilson.

I think he's better suited for the weak side as well but we'll see, the kid has size and speed, he could probably play both sides just fine.

This year, he's been Will a lot. Both INT plays, for instance, he was definitely Will.

In fact, I'm not remembering seeing him lining up on the left side at all.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

One of my favorite Nick Bolton plays to date that sums him up. Clark crashes down and beats the tackle. Bolton finishes off the tackle with authority. Woo. pic.twitter.com/W5KxkNdwk2

— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) November 11, 2021

Oof.

Got down low and used his legs to drive right into the RBs ribcage. Yeah, he felt that one for sure.

Wholly unnecessary apart from sending a message and I love it. Too many guys on this team over the years (Hitchens included) would've just jumped on the pile there. Bolton went in with bad intentions.

Just a great addition to the defense and as he gets more comfortable he'll absolutely ascend to a leadership position. Think I'm gonna need a new jersey...

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I have quibbles with the example you just provided, but overall I understand how tiers work. It's a reasonable system, but I don't like it, and I especially don't like how Veach utilizes them.

Let me just ask you this: the specific players we took aside, is spending 4 1st/2nd round picks on RB/LB/LB/IOL a smart use of resources for an NFL football team?

My guess is your answer would be no, but you'd be open to it if the players we selected met their ceilings.

Which is pretty close to my answer (my answer: it's absolutely not okay, unless you're selecting four slam dunks). I just don't think a player of Bolton's ability (which I had in the Hitchens neighborhood) is worth that, but I'm open to re-evaluating if he ends up in the London Fletcher neighborhood, thus inspiring the OP.

Hope that makes sense.

Off-ball linebacker got so overrated that the backlash led to it being underrated.

I just don't see how you could have watched this team over the last 3-5 years and not recognize how invaluable a smart, aggressive LB corps with athleticism can be.

It's arguably as critical as a versatile secondary. These guys do so much to force opposing offenses into tough decisions. A lot of what they do doesn't show up directly unless they're not doing it. Forcing a QB to come off an underneath route and either take a sack or fire a ball deeper into coverage won't be a thing anyone notices on the statsheet, but if you DON'T do it and give that QB an easy completion for 8-10 yards, you'll get gutted.

I've made this analogy with other areas before, but quality LB play is like strong 1b defense. You don't appreciate it until you don't have it. And while there are diminishing returns at the very top of the scale (a GG 1b doesn't make as big a difference as a merely very good shortstop), having a below average defensive 1b can actually hurt you MORE than it can anywhere else.

So while I don't think an elite LB will make as big a difference as an elite DE, DT or CB, having a genuinely bad LB crew is as bad or worse as having a bad DL. You need quality players there.

Bolton and Gay are absolutely quality players and are easily worth 2nd round picks even if this is the apex of who they are. If this is the level they play at for the remainder of their rookie deals, those are still extremely successful draft picks. The good news is there's every reason to believe they'll get better.

[Chris Meck]

Really, the building blocks are there for a solid defense moving forward after cutting the big money guys. Now, obviously, you need to hit on their replacements, but You have some nice rotational depth left with Danna and a project with Kaindoh. You need a veteran presence there (Ingram? Ogbah?) along with a high pick, in my opinion. At DT you still have Jonesy, Wharton, and Saunders. You need one more guy there.

LB looks pretty good with Gay and Bolton; you need a SAM and you need some depth. SAM is probably the least valued spot, and it should be fairly easy to get a productive player there at reasonable cost.

You've got Thornhill, who's a good FS in my opinion. You need a SS, and you need a warm body to take Sorensen's role. Maybe Key's red-shirt year on the practice squad pays off.

I like the corner room even if you let Ward walk (and I would. Not because I don't like him, I do-but because with the current rules, I don't think corners are worth what their market value is.) I think Baker has been odd man out, but I don't think he's bad. Sneed, Fenton, Hughes, and Baker are a decent 4 to roll with.

There's a lot of work to do, but it's not nearly as daunting as the 2019 rebuild, in my opinion.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Really, the building blocks are there for a solid defense moving forward after cutting the big money guys. Now, obviously, you need to hit on their replacements, but You have some nice rotational depth left with Danna and a project with Kaindoh. You need a veteran presence there (Ingram? Ogbah?) along with a high pick, in my opinion. At DT you still have Jonesy, Wharton, and Saunders. You need one more guy there.

LB looks pretty good with Gay and Bolton; you need a SAM and you need some depth. SAM is probably the least valued spot, and it should be fairly easy to get a productive player there at reasonable cost.

You've got Thornhill, who's a good FS in my opinion. You need a SS, and you need a warm body to take Sorensen's role. Maybe Key's red-shirt year on the practice squad pays off.

I like the corner room even if you let Ward walk (and I would. Not because I don't like him, I do-but because with the current rules, I don't think corners are worth what their market value is.) I think Baker has been odd man out, but I don't think he's bad. Sneed, Fenton, Hughes, and Baker are a decent 4 to roll with.

There's a lot of work to do, but it's not nearly as daunting as the 2019 rebuild, in my opinion.

The mid level DE market is one we've seen the last few years have some guys that can really help in it. Find one or two there.

But we need a real speed ass kicker at DE. Probably gonna have to get that guy early.

Sam should be fairly easy to find atleast I'd think .

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Off-ball linebacker got so overrated that the backlash led to it being underrated.

I just don't see how you could have watched this team over the last 3-5 years and not recognize how invaluable a smart, aggressive LB corps with athleticism can be.

It's arguably as critical as a versatile secondary. These guys do so much to force opposing offenses into tough decisions. A lot of what they do doesn't show up directly unless they're not doing it. Forcing a QB to come off an underneath route and either take a sack or fire a ball deeper into coverage won't be a thing anyone notices on the statsheet, but if you DON'T do it and give that QB an easy completion for 8-10 yards, you'll get gutted.

I've made this analogy with other areas before, but quality LB play is like strong 1b defense. You don't appreciate it until you don't have it. And while there are diminishing returns at the very top of the scale (a GG 1b doesn't make as big a difference as a merely very good shortstop), having a below average defensive 1b can actually hurt you MORE than it can anywhere else.

So while I don't think an elite LB will make as big a difference as an elite DE, DT or CB, having a genuinely bad LB crew is as bad or worse as having a bad DL. You need quality players there.

Bolton and Gay are absolutely quality players and are easily worth 2nd round picks even if this is the apex of who they are. If this is the level they play at for the remainder of their rookie deals, those are still extremely successful draft picks. The good news is there's every reason to believe they'll get better.

Defense these days is so much about being complete with guys that can atleast be competent. Offenses are too good at finding weaknesses, so you've gotta have atleast competency.

Ass kicking LB'ers are my weakness. When you had Willis and Bowman in there just kicking tits, shit it was fun to watch.