Chiefs rookie report, Week 6: Creed Humphrey continues to excel

With the regular season now officially six weeks old, the NFL’s Rookie of the Year races are coming into view. Hot starts by the likes of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons feel like the early favorites , but of course, anything can happen when there are still so many games left to play.

As for the Kansas City Chiefs, their own 2021 NFL Draft class is coming along rather nicely. The Chiefs are giving a lot of meaningful reps—even at the starting level—to multiple players, giving fresh faces a lot of important experience from the word go. That’s good for the learning curve and the long-term outlook for each of those players.

After the team’s win over the Washington Football Team on Sunday, we thought it was the right time to step in and check on the Chiefs rookie class to see how they are faring and what is ahead for each one.

Nick Bolton

It’s a shame that the likes of Parsons and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah are enjoying such strong starts to their respective seasons (for the Cowboys and Browns, respectively), because Nick Bolton is putting up some solid numbers and showing himself to be every bit the tenacious tackler that he was at the collegiate level when he starred in the heart of the Mizzou defense.

So far this season, Bolton is 10 tackles ahead of his peers in terms of solo tackles (30) and combined tackles (40) through six weeks. He’s an instinctual player who excels downfield and he’s come up with big plays for the Chiefs at several points so far in the early season.

It’s important to note that the original plan, if every player was healthy, was for Bolton to have some early reps learning behind Anthony Hitchens and alongside Willie Gay Jr. However, a toe injury took Gay out for the first handful of games and forced Bolton into action. Now that Gay is getting better, Hitchens is coming up with an elbow injury which should keep Bolton on the field with starter-level snaps.

There are painful moments in coverage and that’s going to be a significant learning curve for him heading into his second season when he’s able to lean on his first year of experience and grow with the team over the course of a full offseason. But for now he remains a stout run defender and he might be a major factor on Sunday against the sort of running game that Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans will bring.