Tag: Nick Bolton

Saints get better on offense and defense in Draft Wire’s latest mock

The New Orleans Saints improved on both sides of the football in Draft Wire’s latest mock draft, adding LB Nick Bolton and WR Rondale Moore.

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Ask ten fans which position the New Orleans Saints should target in the 2021 NFL draft and you might get ten different answers. But the most common responses might be linebacker and wide receiver; both spots were highlighted as vulnerabilities in 2020 when the Saints struggled to find a compliment to All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis while injuries hit almost every receiver on the depth chart. An injection of young talent would be welcome.

The Saints ended up checking off both boxes in Luke Easterling’s latest mock over at Draft Wire. New Orleans picked Missouri Tigers linebacker Nick Bolton in the first round (at No. 28 overall) and saw Purdue Boilermakers slot receiver Rondale Moore fall to them in the second round (at No. 60).

That would be quite a haul to start the draft. Moore is considered a first round prospect, but the quality of this year’s crop and some questions about his game could see him fall. His highs were impressive at Purdue but he was limited to lining up out of the slot, with 966 of his 1,103 career snaps coming from that alignment. There will be a learning curve for him in the NFL despite his great athleticism. Still, he’d be another nice weapon to add to the group.

But let’s not lose sight of what adding Bolton would mean to the defense. Right now, the Saints don’t have a clear No. 2 linebacker next to Davis. Kwon Alexander could be a salary cap cut if he’s able to return from a torn Achilles tendon. Zack Baun is an unproven position-switch who couldn’t get on the field as a rookie. His usual sidekicks Alex Anzalone and Craig Robertson are both free agents. That leaves Baun and Kaden Elliss with practice squad holdovers Chase Hansen and Andrew Dowell as your best options.

Bolton is slightly undersized for the position and hasn’t quite shown the top end speed to compensate, but he has the skills, smarts, and football instincts to compete with anyone. It would be good to see him clean up his tackling (28 misses over the last two years, per Pro Football Focus) but he’s still the SEC leader in tackles for loss since 2019 (30).

Making these kind of additions at two positions of need with their first two picks would be great for New Orleans, but maybe their priorities look dramatically different in a few months. Free agency is still ahead of us and the Saints still need to navigate a complicated salary cap situation. But at this stage in the offseason, there’s definitely value in an optimistic outlook like this.

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NFL mock draft roundup links Saints to linebackers, and a Sam Darnold trade

The latest 2021 NFL mock draft roundup links the New Orleans Saints to linebacker prospects and a possible Sam Darnold trade with the Jets.

The last round of 2021 NFL mock drafts doesn’t feature much consensus for where the New Orleans Saints may look to improve, but the flip side to that is noting how many options they have to work with. And the projections aren’t limited to draft prospects; one brave speculator has the Saints trading their first-round pick for embattled New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold. Here’s what’s new in draft circles:

Mock Draft Monday: Cowboys focus on defense for Dan Quinn’s arrival

The Dallas Cowboys have a new defensive coordinator and Dan Quinn is going to need a lot of reinforcements to get the ship going in the right direction. If the Cowboys can find some spending capital, they’ll need to address some of their biggest …

The Dallas Cowboys have a new defensive coordinator and Dan Quinn is going to need a lot of reinforcements to get the ship going in the right direction. If the Cowboys can find some spending capital, they’ll need to address some of their biggest needs in free agency, and that is even more of the case when looking at the strengths in this year’s draft class.

There isn’t a Top-10 lock player at either defensive tackle or safety, two of the three biggest needs going into 2021. Assuming Dallas addresses those needs in some level of free agency, they’ll still need reinforcements there as well as front-line starters at other positions. Here’s our attempt to round out those positions with impact players using The Draft Network’s simulator and scouting reports.

Saints land an All-SEC linebacker in Todd McShay’s 2021 NFL mock draft

The New Orleans Saints landed Nick Bolton in Todd McShay’s 2021 NFL mock draft for ESPN, an All-SEC linebacker out of Missouri.

Could the New Orleans Saints invest in a rookie linebacker in the 2021 NFL draft? They haven’t gotten much of an impact from Zack Baun, a third-round pick they traded up to acquire in 2020, so it’s possible that they go back to that well in search of help.

And they just might need it. Of the eight linebackers on their roster right now, Kwon Alexander is a possible salary cap casualty (in addition to a long recovery from Achilles surgery) while Alex Anzalone and Craig Robertson are both headed for free agency. It’s a good thing Demario Davis signed a multiyear contract extension, because the remaining linebackers have totaled just 88 combined snaps on defense this year between Baun (82), Kaden Elliss (5), and Chase Hansen (1).

For an idea of who they could bring in to reinforce the middle of their defense, ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay linked the Saints to Missouri Tigers linebacker Nick Bolton, writing:

“The Saints could use a talent like Bolton, as inside linebacker is perhaps the only question mark on their stout defense. He plays fast and has great instincts in coverage, compiling 95 tackles this season. Sliding him in at the second level would help keep New Orleans’ run defense strong.”

Bolton earned All-SEC recognition in each of the last two seasons, totaling 220 tackles (139 solo, 17.5 tackles for loss) in his Missouri career. He’s also got some ball skills with a couple of interceptions and a dozen passes defensed on his resume. He’s a little undersized, listed at 6-foot-0 and 232 pounds, but good instincts can make up for a low height-weight combination. Just look at what Sam Mills accomplished.

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Potential 2021 Chiefs draft prospects: Group 15

Bowl season is officially here and we’ve got several prospects set to play on the big stage. There are a few teams playing today, but I’ve already highlighted several of the draft-eligible players in those games. We’ll look at a few players who play …

Bowl season is officially here and we’ve got several prospects set to play on the big stage. There are a few teams playing today, but I’ve already highlighted several of the draft-eligible players in those games. We’ll look at a few players who play later this week today instead.

I’ve identified a number of college prospects to keep an eye on ahead of the 2021 draft. All of them are potential fits with the Kansas City Chiefs. I’ll be releasing my thoughts on many of the prospects in random groups of four on Saturday’s throughout the season.

Check out our fifteenth group of prospects down below:

Kyle Pitts is one of the most exciting players in the SEC, per PFF

With SEC football set to get underway in less than 24 hours, members of the media have been giving their opinions on matchups and players.

With Southeastern Conference football set to get underway in less than 24 hours, members of the media have been giving their opinions on various matchups and players who will be featured this Saturday.

PFF’s lead draft analyst Mike Renner released his list of the most exciting players in the SEC on Friday via Twitter, with one prominent Florida Gator at the head of the pack. Junior tight end Kyle Pitts, who has earned quite a few lofty expectations coming into his 2020 campaign, was the first mention on Renner’s roster of five players from the around the league — all of whom were underclassmen.

Also mentioned was the Alabama Crimson Tide’s junior wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, Ole Miss Rebels’ sophomore quarterback John Rhys-Plumlee, LSU Tigers’ sophomore quarterback Derek Stingley Jr. and Missouri Tigers’ junior linebacker Nick Bolton.

Two of the names mentioned will be facing off against each other on Saturday when Pitts’ Gators travel to Oxford, Miss., to take on Rhys-Plumlee and his Rebels, kicking off both schools’ 10-game, SEC-only schedules.

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Broncos select LB Nick Bolton in 2nd round of 2021 NFL mock draft

The Broncos select Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton in the second round of this 2021 NFL mock draft.

In his latest two-round 2021 NFL mock draft for Draft Wire, Luke Easterling has the Denver Broncos selecting Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade. That’s the same defensive back Easterling had the Broncos selected in his previous 2021 NFL mock draft.

In the second round of his new mock, Easterling has Denver landing Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton. The Broncos still have to play the 2020 season but as of now, cornerback and inside linebacker do appear to be two of the team’s top positions of need for the future.

Bolton (6-0, 235 pounds) totaled 74 tackles — including 8.5 tackles for losses — one sack, two interceptions and seven pass breakups in 2019. He could be exactly the kind of linebacker Denver’s defense has been missing.

Alexander Johnson appears poised to anchor the middle of the Broncos’ defense for the foreseeable future but the team will probably bring in a replacement for Todd Davis sooner than later. Bolton might be that replacement.

The Washington Redskins select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first pick in the mock draft. View the complete mock here.

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