Why Bolton Embraces Mentoring Younger Chiefs

Bolton’s only 25 but he’s been entrenched in the middle of Spagnuolo’s defense since the Chiefs took him in the second round of the 2021 draft. And that huddle last Thursday was evidence of defensive attrition unlike any other season.

The Chiefs have lost both starting cornerbacks (Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson), starting linebacker Leo Chenal and key reserves Chris Roland-Wallace and Omarr Norman-Lott – all to season-ending injuries. George Karlaftis has played most of the season with a cast on his thumb.

That can lead to a lot of big eyes in the huddle.

“It’s just part of the profession,” Bolton said. “It's pretty fun, man, to see people go out there chasing their dreams. Just super excited to be out there in that moment.

“I'm just making sure they just have great experiences, make sure I can do my part. Make sure they have a good game, or have a confident game, and play a confident game. So yeah, man, it's super cool.”

Embracing younger players (who aren't that much younger)

What’s super cool is how Bolton embraces younger players , like rookie linebacker Jeffrey Bassa.

“He's learning the scheme out there,” Bolton said. “Early in the game. he's out there giving me checks and calls and kind of things that throughout the week that we've kind of been working on. So, definitely reassuring as a middle linebacker to have somebody pay attention throughout the week.

“And also, just kind of when the weeks really didn't matter that much for him, he wasn't playing that much, having somebody who’s been locked in on the gameplan week-in and week-out, kind of making sure he's on his Ps and Qs. Super proud of him for that. Hopefully, we get him in there a little bit more and see what he can do a little bit.”

When he does, whether it’s Sunday’s season finale or next season, Bolton will be there. The quarterback of the Chiefs’ defense hardly ever leaves the field. And when he does, like last week, it’s for a short amount of time.

Bolton has at least 10 tackles in five straight games, the NFL’s longest active streak. He has a tackle for loss in three of his last four games. And against the Broncos last week, along with his 12 stops, he added his first 2025 interception.

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