Buffalo Bills: 6 Players to draft as replacements for Matt Milano

Nick Bolton – Missouri (Round 1 – Pick 30)

While Owusu-Koramoah personifies where the linebacker position is going, Nick Bolton has more shades of the classic linebacker in his game. At 6’0 and 232 pounds, Bolton is a polished run stopping linebacker with excellent instincts and gap discipline at the second level.

While he may lack the athleticism and short area quickness to excel in coverage against tight ends and running backs at the next level, he has a good enough understanding of how to play the shallow zone in coverage. His ability to quickly diagnose plays and play downhill against the run will be his best asset as a rookie.

Although this may not be exactly what the Buffalo Bills need to replace Milano, it would be an interesting add to the linebacking group. By adding Bolton to the Bills defense, it could allow Bolton to play more of the run responsibilities and free up Edmunds to play more like Milano.

Drafting Bolton will not force Edmunds to change positions, but it may shift the responsibilities of the linebackers. Considering the Buffalo Bills’ inability to cover tight ends in 2020 it may be more prudent to focus on drafting a coverage style linebacker. However, with some issues in run defense last year an argument could be made that a run-stopping linebacker would also help the Bills defense moving forward.

In just 10 games played in 2020, Bolton put up some great stats with 95 total tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 5 passes defended. Additionally, Bolton had 2 interceptions and 7 more passes defended in his 2019 season illustrating he is not a liability in coverage, it’s more than his obvious strength is run-stopping.