5 notable players the Vikings could have drafted the past five years
By Ben Donahue
Player No. 4
Nick Bolton - LB (Kansas City Chiefs)
Let’s be clear. Christian Darrisaw is a good player and has provided Kirk Cousins with great protection over the past two years. Not many people would question why Minnesota took him when they did in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
However, the 2020 Vikings defense struggled mightily and ended the year ranked 29th overall. It’s not a stretch to say the team really needed help to address that side of the ball. Instead of taking Darrisaw, Minnesota could have benefitted from taking Bolton and passing on Chazz Surratt in the second round.
Coming out of the University of Missouri, Bolton was an All-American, All-SEC, and finalist for the Butkus Award in 2020. The knock on him was that Bolton is only 6-feet tall. However, scouts gave him a pre-draft grade of 6.33 as an eventual plus starter.
Bolton was also overshadowed by the University of Tulsa’s Zaven Collins, who many people thought was the best linebacker in the draft. Collins was taken by the Arizona Cardinals with the 16th pick, while Bolton was drafted by Kansas City with the 58th pick in the second round.
In two seasons, Collins has 22 starts, two sacks, one interception, 125 combined tackles, and nine passes defended. Bolton, meanwhile, has 29 starts, two sacks, two picks, 292 combined tackles, and six passes defended.
In 2022 alone, Bolton had 180 combined tackles and won a championship with the Chiefs. During Super Bowl LVII, Bolton led Kansas City with nine tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown.