{"id":83311,"date":"2025-07-27T09:05:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T09:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=83311"},"modified":"2025-07-27T09:05:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T09:05:23","slug":"nick-bolton-the-chiefs-have-the-pieces-to-be-the-nfls-no-1-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=83311","title":{"rendered":"Nick Bolton: The Chiefs have the pieces to be the NFL\u2019s No. 1 defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton spoke after Friday\u2019s practice at the team\u2019s training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, he made no secret of his goal for this season: helping the Chiefs field the NFL\u2019s best defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a pretty good defense last year, in terms of efficiency,\u201d he recalled. \u201cWe also want to be a top defense in this league. We\u2019ve got the personnel, the players and the coaches to do so. That\u2019s about executing week-to-week and giving us an opportunity to win football games \u2014 to help our team win.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, we\u2019ll get back to the end game, but I feel like we could be the No. 1 defense in this league. That\u2019s my motivation as we keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The offseason has already brought Bolton good fortune. He signed new three-year contract for $45 million just before the start of free agency. On Wednesday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo referred to Bolton as \u201cthe Patrick Mahomes of the defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nick <\/picture> <\/span><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been growing and learning over the last four years [with] each other,\u201d Bolton said of his relationship with Spagnuolo, \u201cand kind of figuring out what things we do well and what our personnel allows us to do. [We\u2019re] trying to figure out the best way to make our 11 play the fastest. It\u2019s just super cool that I have a coach ([and] a Hall of Fame head coach) that believes in me and helps uplift me when I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m my best self \u2014 along with my teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we\u2019re just going to keep building. Again, Spags is that type of guy \u2014 [a] super loving, big-hearted coach \u2014 and he puts all that confidence in his guys week-in and week-out. So he expects me to do the same thing. [He\u2019s] just a father figure for everybody in the locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retaining Bolton was one of several moves Kansas City made to retain homegrown defensive talent. The former Missouri Tiger believes the philosophy is paying dividends in team continuity, which he noticed at this offseason\u2019s organized-team-activities (OTAs).<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s one of the biggest things for us,\u201d he remarked, \u201cis that we\u2019ve had a lot of success in the last couple of years. We kind of have that same nucleus of coaches and players \u2014 and we keep building. [When] we came in at OTAs, we weren\u2019t having to break stuff down to the very minute details.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe picked up where we left off. [We] added some stuff here [and] changed some stuff there that would make us a better overall defense, but I feel we haven\u2019t skipped a beat. I know what to expect when you\u2019ve got a veteran group \u2014 a lot of guys that have played a lot of football together.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see out there on the field communications and not having to yell out the signals… So being able to just look at each other and understand what we\u2019re doing \u2014 and kind of read each other\u2019s minds \u2014 becomes huge. I feel like we\u2019ve been doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While this continuity will be an important key to the defense\u2019s success, the Chiefs will still need contributions from their newcomers. Bolton has been impressed with what he\u2019s seen from rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, who has rotated with the starters during the camp\u2019s first week.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an intelligent guy,\u201d Bolton observed of his new teammate. \u201cHe comes in there and he understands where he needs to be in defenses \u2014 and honestly, it\u2019s the only thing you can ask for in the first couple of days. It\u2019s not physical. A lot of stuff is mental \u2014 chin to the hairline \u2014 getting aligned, not having mental mistakes and doing what your job is supposed to [be]. He\u2019s been doing that. I haven\u2019t seen many [mental errors].<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s trusting me, listening to the linebacker\u2019s communication and giving us visual keys when he gets it. [That\u2019s] all you can ask for at this point, [so] he\u2019s been great in that department.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bolton also thinks the linebacker group has another promising rookie: fifth-round selection Jeff Bassa.<\/p>\n

\u201cJeff\u2019s one of those guys [that] he\u2019s got a unique skill set,\u201d the veteran noted. \u201cHe does a lot of different things well. So, as we keep building, he\u2019s going to learn his role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just talking to him. He\u2019s a guy that\u2019s real hard on himself, trying to be perfect, [but] it\u2019s not the easiest game in the world to learn \u2014 especially as a rookie running multiple positions. So, we\u2019ve just got to keep going every single day and give [him] a little confidence as we keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nick <\/picture> <\/span> Photo by Cooper Neill\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figure>\n

Now with a life-changing contract (and already possessing two Super Bowl rings), Bolton has accomplished much in his short time in the league. But to be recognized as one of the league\u2019s best defenders, he knows he can\u2019t be complacent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a lot of stuff that I still haven\u2019t done in this league,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cI\u2019ve won Super Bowls. That\u2019s cool, but individual success \u2014 and all that type of stuff \u2014 I haven\u2019t really accomplished. So I get out of bed every morning, and I want to be the best version of myself. I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019ve done that yet, so I\u2019m still struggling every day to do that \u2014 and that\u2019s my motivation every time I get up [at] camp.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kansas City\u2019s top linebacker spoke after Friday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":83314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nNick Bolton: The Chiefs have the pieces to be the NFL\u2019s No. 1 defense - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=83311\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nick Bolton: The Chiefs have the pieces to be the NFL\u2019s No. 1 defense - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kansas City\u2019s top linebacker spoke after Friday\u2019s practice.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=83311\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-27T09:05:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-27T09:05:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/usa_today_26705390.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=83311\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=83311\",\"name\":\"Nick Bolton: The Chiefs have the pieces to be the NFL\u2019s No. 1 defense - 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