Nick Bolton’s second season for Kansas City Chiefs was a huge success. finished with Single season franchise record for tackleshelped elevate a defense that showed massive improvement from week to week.
As good as Bolton was in 2022, there are still ways he can improve in 2023. Those mainly consist of his ability to play the pass and his ability to finish in space.
pass coverage
While Bolton is a first class defender, he still leaves some to be desired in his passing game. Poulton wasn’t bad at covering with ADOT – Average Depth of Target – only at 3.7 yards. This reflects that the receptions evaluated against him were often short passes—largely around or behind the line of scrimmage.
Targeted 74 times, Bolton He gave up 61 receptions. While most of them were on and around the line of scrimmage, teams sometimes took advantage of it.
KC shows raid in LOS. Gay spies on LOS while Bolton goes to cover RB at the apartment. The RB breaks and sprints down the middle for a big win. Bolton got there and got out of control and couldn’t get his recovery back. pic.twitter.com/b5bmh09WMu
– Caleb James (@CJScoobs) June 22, 2023
The Chiefs show the blitz at the line of scrimmage, however Denver Broncos He had a play call designed to counteract the look. While the Chiefs didn’t finish in the end, Bolton did go flat to cover the running back, initially looking like he was on a short run out of the backfield. Poulton heads to the flat with a head of steam, but one quick cut and his back blasts vertically over the field. Russell Wilson hit the ball, and that’s a big plus.
Poulton is good as a runner on the slopes and runs to the sideline in pursuit of outside runs or screen passes, but quick turnarounds and changes of direction are not where he excels.
The Broncos have done a good job of capitalizing on his shortcomings in the transition, as well as his aggressive playing style.
Bolton’s play action sucks and TE can find the void. Seattle held him as the only LB in the box with KC pressing six. Slow to respond Bolton can’t recover in time as TE gets behind him to make the catch. pic.twitter.com/PhYhumNAGY
– Caleb James (@CJScoobs) June 22, 2023
the Seattle Seahawks Run a play pass with its narrow end running a way through the middle of the court. Poulton steps onto the field and begins to step forward looking to play a run. Geno Smith hauls the ball in, and the tight end runs behind Bolton, making the reception a solid profit.
Poulton was very aggressive and looking to play off the surprise, which caused him to take a step forward. The move was just enough to get the tight end. Poulton’s lack of pace on and off the transition showed again – and was amplified by his rare misreading of the play.
closes in space
In terms of passing coverage, Bolton has struggled at times to shut down plays in space.
What does this mean?
Poulton was excellent when he was able to speed read and get to football, but he was not quick to react to more athletic opponents.
These positions revealed his athletic physique.
He hasn’t missed many tackles in 2022, but this is a play Bolton would like to win back. The WR runs a drag run from the opposite side of the field. Bolton drop in their own area but were late to react to the move through the middle. WR uses space to force the error. pic.twitter.com/1bLAdlkBx3
– Caleb James (@CJScoobs) June 21, 2023
On third down, Bolton covers the area near the line for the gain. The wide receiver comes from all over the field and is not at the start in the vicinity of Bolton. When a receiver enters Bolton territory, the full-back looks to his right and is late in recognizing the play. He tries to make the play at the last minute, but misses the tackle and ends up being the first to fall.
This comes down to him being uncomfortable with pass coverage as a whole, and teams have found multiple ways to take advantage of this lack of relief.
Third and fourth from Cinci running the Y on Road with RB ready to drop out. Bolton and the other LB are in the first bottom depth in the area. When the Y reaches Bolton he is able to do enough to stop Bolton from attacking the slopes causing the tackle to skip and go down first. pic.twitter.com/siLAl5I6K7
– Caleb James (@CJScoobs) June 19, 2023
In third place down Cincinnati Bengals They try to sneak their run out of the background. In order to prevent Bolton from reading the play quickly, they run their tight end across the field on an intersection road.
Bolton sees the drop back and starts to fight back, but the tight end gets to him first, trying to use his body on the block.
As Bolton gets rid of the block, he finds himself in space and has to reorient himself to try to intervene. The back overtakes the arm and moves forward for the first time.
Had Bolton been able to run free to hit the back, he likely would have turned into a play for his signature strip, but the Bengals’ trick wrinkle threw enough of a wrench into the play to create a first down.
How can he get better
After two solid seasons in the NFL, Bolton has been just that. To go from solid to elite, he must find a way to hide the shortcomings in his game, starting with an overall improvement when it comes to playing the pass.
Bolton’s physicals are good for any things – big tackles and solid box play – but they don’t equal a great player in space. To make up for these limitations, he must continue to improve the mental side of his game, get better at tackling certain ways in area coverage, and watch the play before it happens—as he often does in a running game.
The plays I chose to split also had wrinkles designed to target Bolton – but all of them were much more than basic play calls. To beat a high IQ player – which is a lot for Bolton – high level play calls are required.
It was Bolton’s first year as a full-time starter, and a green point—play caller—on defense. As he continues to progress, it will become easier for him to read these plays – and he will begin to feel more comfortable covering passes.
part One The second part of this series has discussed where Bolton excels and where he has room for improvement. The third part will test his talent for making big plays in critical situations.