5 Linebackers Cleveland Browns must know in 2021 NFL Draft
By Cory Kinnan
4. Nick Bolton, Missouri
Up next is one of the best run defenders in all of college football in Missouri’s Nick Bolton. Consistently in the right fit and where he needs to be, Bolton has little issue with initiating contact at the line of scrimmage and the point of the attack. Bolton is a straight-up thumper whose tape can be used as teaching tape for young linebackers to learn from.
Listed at 6-foot-0 and 232 pounds, Bolton is coming off of his first season as a full-time starter as a Sophomore season in 2019. He stuffed the stat sheet for the Tigers, racking up 74 solo tackles, eight and a half of which came behind the line of scrimmage, and a sack. In coverage, Bolton recorded an interception (which he returned for a touchdown) and seven passes defended.
He has the makings of a day-one starter at MIKE, displaying the versatility against the run and the pass. A converted safety, Bolton has no issues hitting his landmarks in zone coverage, and even tracking with running backs out of the backfield and tight ends down the seam. This is an element of the defense the Browns have been missing for quite some time.
Bolton figures to be a top-40 pick by the time the 2021 NFL Draft rolls around, so the Browns will either need to grab him in the late first-round or early second.