Earlier today, we wrote about Pittsburgh Steelers’ ILB coach Jerry Olsavsky attending the Missouri Pro day with eyes on ILB Nick Bolton. We now have a better gauge of the team’s interest in Bolton. In a press conference following today’s Pro Day workout, Bolton confirmed he’s spoken with the Steelers, including a Zoom meeting with Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert.
“I actually zoomed with Mike Tomlin and the GM,” Bolton said in the interview. “I talked to those guys about 30-40 minutes on a Zoom call early last week. So I got a basic background on those guys.”
Bolton also relayed the feedback he got from the team.
“The biggest advice from them was stop being so hard on yourself. I’m my biggest critic and it kind of shows. I live off my facial expressions and emotions. And I’m trying to clean that part up. Stop being so hard on myself and just have fun out there.”
Per Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy, here are Bolton’s official workout numbers.
The 40 time is solid (though Pro Day times are always a little faster than what they’d be at the Combine, add roughly .06 to every number) but the other numbers and underwhelming. Bolton has good tape and racked up tackles in the SEC but the lack of size and average/below-average athleticism will be a question mark for scouts.
Still, Bolton is projected to be a borderline first/second round pick in this year’s draft. The Steelers do have a vacancy at the position after releasing Vince Williams last week. They could look to replace him with Robert Spillane, who filled in for Devin Bush in 2020. But if they want to be aggressive, it’s not inconceivable they could take an early-round swing at someone like Bolton or Tulsa’s Zaven Collins.
