Pittsburgh Steelers’ inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky is reporting attending Missouri’s Pro Day Monday with a watchful eye on LB Nick Bolton, according to multiple reports.
Here’s a photo of Olsavksy, apparently a fan favorite of Nick Bolton’s mother.
Bolton is considered one of the top off-ball linebackers in this draft class and could hear his name called on Day One or early Day Two.
In our scouting report on him, our Josh Carney wrote:
“Overall, I think Bolton is a plug-and-play three-down linebacker as a MIKE in a 4-3 and a BUCK in a 3-4. He’s a tackling machine that will help fix any run defense woes a franchise might have, and he’ll set the tone with his physicality and energy.”
He noted Bolton’s burst and hit power as obvious positives but dinged him for a lack of size (listed at 5’11, 228) and a difficulty getting off blocks. At Missouri, Bolton finished with 224 career tackles, 16 of them for a loss, and four interceptions. He left school a year early.
Last week, Pittsburgh released veteran linebacker Vince Williams. Robert Spillane is expected to fill his shoes but it’s also possible the Steelers at least explore options in the draft. Even if they don’t take Bolton in the first round, something that does feel improbable at this point, they’ll likely add an inside linebacker at some point during the draft.
