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Bubba Bolden, S
School: University of Miami (Florida) | Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference
College Experience: Redshirt Senior | Age: ?
Height / Weight: 6’2” 205 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 5th-6th round
Player Comparison: Morgan Burnett
College Statistics
Player Overview
A two-year starter for the Hurricanes with good size, athleticism, and versatility, Bubba Bolden projects to be a developmental safety in the NFL. After transferring from the University of Southern California his freshman year due to legal troubles, Bolden found a home at the University of Miami. After missing the 2019 season due to a torn Achilles, he broke out in his 2020 junior season where he was a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. However, Bolden had a down year as he played through his senior season. Bolden projects to be a developmental free safety in the next level.
Strengths
- Great awareness on the back end of the field. Knows where he needs to be to make plays.
- Great body build to play either free or strong safety.
- Great range to go with his speed.
- Good motor and energy.
- Good in man coverage.
- Consistently tackles at the ankles (can also be a weakness at times.)
Weaknesses
- Inconsistent tackler when taking weird and bad angles. Leads to plenty of missed tackles.
- Inconsistent hands.
- Lack of physicality can leave him stuck on blocks.
- Hips can be stiff at times.
- Ball production falls short of talent.
Let’s see his work
Bubba Bolden goes lower on run #2
— Tom Downey (Cowboys have $15.5 M-ish in Cap Space) (@WhatGoingDowney) March 6, 2022
A 4.53 40-yard dash#NFL #NFLCombine #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/M4UOd2Udg7
Bubba Bolden is a SS prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.2 RAS at the Combine out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 62 out of 765 SS from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/au0Mydxf8S #RAS via @Mathbomb pic.twitter.com/Ux2fzpDKgG
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 7, 2022
How Will He Fit On The Team
Washington is looking for a long-term answer for free safety. And like other years, it may likely be that it may not be a priority for the front office or coaching staff to use meaningful draft capital or cap room to sign one. What Washington will get in Bolden is a safety prospect who can sit behind McCain as he improves his tackling angles and play with more physicality. Even a slight improvement over training camp could land Bolden a role on special teams in his rookie season. Bolden has the physical tools to become a starting free safety with coaching.