Nick Bolton ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers — a career that places Bolton in the top 3% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Bolton a career score of 78, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

LBKC#32ACT

Nick Bolton

Top 2% all-time linebackersIron Legend👑 #1 Linebacker · 2022 🌅 Early Bloomer · 2022

Height5'11"

Weight237 lb

BornMar 10, 2000

Age26

CollegeMissouri See College Stats

ConferenceSoutheastern

Rookie yr2021

Draft2021 · Rd 2, Pick 58 · KC

Archetype Intelligence

Iron LegendExplore archetypes →

An all-time caliber linebacker (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with reliable availability. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 139 · #714 · High-Value

Worth 139 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 16% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 5 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +27.8 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

5 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+27.8

Avg surplus

peak +41

5 seasons × ~27.8 surplus ≈ VORP 139

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

3 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Defense													Snap Counts						Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2021	—	KC	16	—	99	57	42	11	3	0.0	14.0	0	3	0	1	1	0	—	0.0%	624	59.1%	40	13.7%	45	36	0.8	113.8	4.3	8	5	3	35	4	0.0
2022	—	KC	17	—	171	99	72	9	7	2.0	18.0	2	3	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	1,119	97.6%	70	15.3%	74	61	0.8	92.6	3.7	7	1	4	37	7	0.0
2023	—	KC	8	—	49	27	22	1	1	0.0	2.0	1	3	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	442	86.3%	24	13.6%	32	23	0.7	82.3	3.8	2	1	1	23	2	0.0
2024	—	KC	16	—	99	66	33	11	7	3.0	21.0	1	6	1	2	0	0	—	0.0%	941	93.5%	65	16.0%	49	39	0.8	103.6	3.9	7	0	3	96	13	0.1
2025	—	KC	17	—	150	69	81	10	7	1.0	18.0	1	6	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	1,011	96.5%	72	16.6%	85	67	0.8	106.5	3.5	11	4	6	91	14	0.1
Career		—	74	—	568	318	250	42	25	6.0	73.0	5	21	3	3	1	0	—	0.0%	4,137	86.6%	271	15.0%	285	226	—	—	—	35	11	17	282	40	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	VAL
2021	21	KC	16	9*	99	57	42	11	3	0.0	14.0	0	3	0	1	1	9.1
2022	22	KC	17	17*	171	99	72	9	7	2.0	18.0	2	3	1	—	0	11.7
2023	23	KC	8	7*	49	27	22	1	1	0.0	2.0	1	3	0	—	0	4.5
2024	24	KC	16	15*	99	66	33	11	7	3.0	21.0	1	6	1	2	0	10.7
2025	25	KC	17	16*	150	69	81	10	7	1.0	18.0	1	6	1	—	0	12
Career			74	64*	568	318	250	42	25	—	—	5	21	3	3	1	48

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Snap Counts

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2021	21	KC	16	9*	—	0.0%	624	59.1%	40	13.7%
2022	22	KC	17	17*	—	0.0%	1,119	97.6%	70	15.3%
2023	23	KC	8	7*	—	0.0%	442	86.3%	24	13.6%
2024	24	KC	16	15*	—	0.0%	941	93.5%	65	16.0%
2025	25	KC	17	16*	—	0.0%	1,011	96.5%	72	16.6%
Career			74	64*	—	—	4,137	—	271	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2021	21	KC	16	9*	45	36	0.8	113.8	4.3	8	5	3	35	4	0.0
2022	22	KC	17	17*	74	61	0.8	92.6	3.7	7	1	4	37	7	0.0
2023	23	KC	8	7*	32	23	0.7	82.3	3.8	2	1	1	23	2	0.0
2024	24	KC	16	15*	49	39	0.8	103.6	3.9	7	0	3	96	13	0.1
2025	25	KC	17	16*	85	67	0.8	106.5	3.5	11	4	6	91	14	0.1
Career			74	64*	285	226	—	—	—	35	11	17	282	40	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 78 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 78 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 5 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 78.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 78· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 77

On-field 58.5

Availability 18.5

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)

2021bestavg 75elite 702025

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Depth

of 100

Reached 3% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

3% of the all-time Sacks leader3

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 89%.

Per-Snap Impact

Linebackers · proprietary · 2012+

Solid

SIS

Disruption / 100 snaps:2.466See leaderboard →

Disruption/1002.466Snap share86.6%Def snaps4,137ReliableCV 0.25

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within linebackers, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2021

Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.

LB · 2021 class

4.60s

40-Yard

Above avg · 73th pct

Pos 73thAll 58thClass Pos 68thClass All 51th

32"

Vertical

Below avg · 25th pct

Pos 25thAll 35thClass Pos 22thClass All 32th

24 reps

Bench

Above avg · 66th pct

Pos 66thAll 69thClass Pos 67thClass All 66th

7.40s

3-Cone

Low · 9th pct

Pos 9thAll 30thClass Pos 2thClass All 25th

4.50s

Shuttle

Low · 9th pct

Pos 9thAll 29thClass Pos 14thClass All 28th

Postseason Career

13 playoff games

Defense

Tkl97Solo50Ast47TFL5QBHits3Dis8.0PD2FR2TD1

College Stats

MissouriImported college table

College Defense

Season	School	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	TD	Sfty
2018	Missouri	—	12	—	—	—	—	—	0	—	0	—	—
2019	Missouri	—	74	—	—	—	—	—	10	—	0	—	—
2020	Missouri	—	53	—	—	—	—	—	5	—	1	—	—
Career		0	139	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	15	0	1	—	—

Reference Graph

Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.

2021 Draft Class· this player went #58

#50Azeez OjulariLB #51Sam CosmiOT #52Jeremiah Owusu-KoramoahLB #53Dillon RadunzOT #54Dayo OdeyingboDE #55Pat FreiermuthTE #56Dee EskridgeWR #57Tutu AtwellWR #59Terrace Marshall Jr.WR #60Pete WernerLB #61Carlos BashamLB #62Josh MyersC #63Creed HumphreyC #64Kyle TraskQB #65Andre CiscoSAF #66Kellen MondQB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Nick inherited the Kansas City Chiefs LB room from Michael Danna (2020–2025), and handed it to Leo Chenal (2022–2025).

Derrick Thomas 1989–1999Lonnie Marts 1991–1993Tracy Simien 1991–1997Greg Manusky 1994–1999Donnie Edwards 1996–2008Marvcus Patton

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2025final season
Last recorded season with KC
2021draft
Drafted by KC — Round 2, Pick 58

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'11" / 237 lb

Frame

237 lb at 4.60s

Size-speed

24 reps

Bench power

Injury History

4 career games missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2024	KC	0	W18Doubtful· Not injury related - other
2023	KC	4	W3Out· AnkleW4Out· AnkleW5Questionable· AnkleW8Out· WristW13Out· WristW18Questionable· Wrist / Abdomen
2021	KC	0	W16Questionable· not injury related

Knox

StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →

Historical Knox · KV-H

Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 5-season peers. See all →

peak 81

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

B+2021

A2022

B2023

B+2024

A2025

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 5 seasons.

87%

Era Translator

Tackles translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.

Season	Actual Tackles	Tackles/G	→ 2025 Tackles	→ 2025 /G
2021	99	6.2	101+2	6
2022	171	10.1	165-6	9.7
2023	49	6.1	103+54	6.1
2024	99	6.2	104+5	6.1
2025	150	8.8	150	8.8

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries, wikipedia:college-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

139 career value over replacement — #714 all-time of 4,642. 27.8/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #58 (Rd 2) · KC · 2021 · +31.1 vs expected KV-H

78actual

46.9 expected · Δ+31.1

Fan Rating

Rate Nick Bolton — All-Time

Tap a star to rate

Explore More

Similar Players

Sam Mills

91% match

Denzel Perryman

MLB

89% match

Devin Bush

89% match

T.J. Edwards

88% match

Jordan Hicks

MLB

87% match

Compare Nick Bolton vs Player Report data error

Nick Bolton

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

Snap Counts

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Per-Snap Impact

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2021

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

College Defense

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2021 Draft Class· this player went #58

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography