The Kansas City Chiefs bounced back in a big way against the Detroit Lions in Week 6 to send a message to the rest of the league. It may not always look pretty, but the Chiefs are still a force to be reckoned with. Despite the win, though, there were a few individual performances that raised questions for Chiefs fans, including veteran linebacker Nick Bolton.
After landing a three-year, $45 million deal in the offseason that made him the fifth-highest paid linebacker in the NFL by average annual salary, Bolton hasn't been anywhere near that level. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, the 25-year-old has been one of the worst linebackers in the league through so weeks, ranking 63rd in coverage grade and 65th in overall defense grade out of 77 eligible players in the position.
Chiefs LB Nick Bolton Continues to Be a Liability in Coverage
Sunday was particularly disappointing for Bolton, who had his worst game of the season per PFF (28.6 overall grade). In fact, he received the lowest grade among all Chiefs who played a snap against the Lions. In coverage, he was particularly non-factor, allowing nine catches in ten targets for 112 yards, a touchdown, and a 146.7 passer rating. His struggles in coverage were put on full display during Detroit wideout Jameson Williams' 22-yard touchdown (h/t @NFL) right through the middle early in the second quarter.
Bolton is a smart, intuitive defender. He can be a strong and physical tackler, has long been a great run stuffer, and is a good leader for this defense who has defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's full trust. His problem, however, is that his lack of elite speed and lateral quickness proves to be a liability pretty regularly.
That liability is easy to look past when a player is on his rookie-scale contract. After getting paid like one of the best players in your position, though, expectations change. A performance beginning to tank immediately upon signing a new deal can be a major red flag, and Bolton is currently at risk of being one of the more overpaid players on the team if things don't change.
After being a top-five defensive unit for the past two seasons, the Chiefs are now outside the top-10 in points allowed, and Bolton is among the primary culprits for that decline. That doesn't mean that Bolton can't turn things around, though, especially with minds like Spagnuolo and head coach Andy Reid at the helm.
The Chiefs' defense as a whole needs to do that to have any chance of making a deep postseason run. Whether Bolton can bounce back, along with the rest of the defense, will determine how far Kansas City will go this season.