Missouri has seen its first player selected in the 2021 NFL Draft. Linebacker Nick Bolton has been picked by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round, with the No. 58 overall pick.
Bolton left Missouri after three highly productive seasons to pursue an NFL career. The former three-star recruit out of Frisco, TX played mostly on special teams as a true freshman before taking over the starting weakside linebacker position each of the past two seasons. During that time, Bolton racked up 198 tackles across 22 games. His average of nearly nine tackles per game led the SEC in 2019. He also had 16.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions across the past two years.
Bolton, a team captain, was named to the all-SEC first team by both the leagues coaches and media following each of the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He earned second-team all-America honors in 2020, becoming Missouri's first all-American since Kentrell Brothers in 2015.
Bolton is also the first Missouri linebacker since Brothers to be selected in the NFL Draft. He extends the Tigers' streak of consecutive years with at least one player picked in the draft to 17. Other Missouri players with a chance to hear their names called this weekend include safeties Tyree Gillespie and Joshuah Bledsoe, offensive lineman Larry Borom and running back Larry Rountree III.
The Chiefs have played in the Super Bowl in two consecutive seasons, winning it in 2020 and losing to Tampa Bay last year. It is the second consecutive draft in which the Chiefs have taken a linebacker in the second round. Kansas City took Mississippi State's Willie Gay in round two last year.
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