NFL Draft Profile: Slade Bolden, Wide Receiver, Alabama Crimson Tide

#14
Pos: FS
Ht: 6041
Wt: 220
Hand: 918
Arm: 3300
Wing: 7968
40: 4.59
Vertical: 38
Broad: 1011
3 Cone: 6.9
Bench: NA
Shuttle: 4.32
DOB: 36965
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
High School: Marist School

Slade Bolden
Alabama Crimson Tide

One Liner: 

Slade Bolden is a slot wide receiver that understands coverages but is limited physically/athletically.

Pros: 

Slade Bolden is a quick slot wide receiver that knows how to attack leverage. He understands zone coverage and knows how to find soft spots in all types of zones. Mental processing is good and identifies coverages quickly and makes good adjustments. He runs good routes on horizontal breaks and 45 degree breaks. He is at his best working off a hop and a skip where he can explode off that cut. He runs good option routes and does a nice job changing pace and stride length throughout his route stem. He possesses good footwork in the slot. He is unselfish when running routes to clear out or take away Db’s to open up other WR’s. He is very competitive and is a very willing blocker. He is solid after the catch making a guy miss with his quickness. He is reliable with his hands and fearless working the MOF.

Cons: 

Slade Bolden is undersized and lacks overall explosiveness and long speed. He is limited to the slot and won’t have a role on the outside at the next level. He will only make an impact in the short to intermediate game. He needs to work back on his curl routes and struggles to sink his hips on those routes. He has a limited catch radius and struggles to adjust in contested situations. Overall he had limited production at Alabama. He can struggle to beat man to man coverage.

Summary: 

Slade Bolden projects to be a practice squad player that needs to make an impact on special teams to be on the roster. He is a smart route runner and will take advantage of soft spots in zone coverage. He lacks the size and explosiveness you look for in a wide receiver. He needs to work on his blocking but gives a lot of effort.

Background:

He was a 4 star prospect by rivals.com coming out if high school and the 13th ranked player in Louisiana. He played quarterback his senior year of HS. in 2019 he was a wildcat QB for Alabama and also worked on special teams. In 2020 he played wideout and on special teams. He had 27o yards on 24 catches. In 2021 he had 42 catches for 408 yards.

Grade:

6.4 / 6.9