Chiefs LB Nick Bolton praises Jeffrey Bassa's development at minicamp: 'Great for us'
During his minicamp press conference on Thursday, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton praised rookie linebacker Jeffrey Bassa's progress at camp and offered a unique comparison to a teammate.
"Yeah, Jeff Bass, we joke around all the time, but he's like a mix between Willie (Gay Jr.), who was here, and Leo (Chenal). I think he's done a great job communicating," said Bolton, "One of the things that, as a linebacker coming in, your job is to communicate well, he does, probably gives anybody, and also to talk to the secondary, understand what people are doing behind him. So I've also had some time to sit down and talk to try to sit down and talk to him a little bit, kind of pick his brain a little bit, and you understand that he's an IQ guy, a hot motor he's a little bit lighter guy, but he can run, he can cover a little bit. So if you bring that potential to the team."
As a former safety, Bassa could become an essential defensive utility player who can step into several roles in Spagnuolo's schemes.
"Yeah, you definitely can tell we made a joke about it one time because he's out there playing press like a corner. We said, We take 31, put 35, and everybody switches it out a little bit," said Bolton, "But yeah, it's been pretty fun. He's up there. He likes to play cover, so that'd be great for us."
During the 2024 season, Bassa was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten Conference with the Ducks and played in all 14 games, starting in 12. He finished with 54 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.
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