Kansas City Chiefs 2020 NFL Draft Report Card

Round 2 – Pick 63 – Willie Gay Jr. – LB – Mississippi St.

Most Chiefs fans would agree that the linebacker group was the weakest part of KC’s defense last season. While they did just enough to get by, there simply weren’t any real playmakers in the group. That is where Willie Gay Jr. comes in. Gay is an athletic freak. In fact, Gay was the top linebacker in Ryan Tracy’s Athletic Matrix (also worth purchasing), edging out even Isaiah Simmons.

The Pro Football Focus Draft Guide also noted just how well Gay tested:

"If Isaiah Simmons didn’t exist, we’d be talking a lot more about how freaky Gay’s Combine was. The truth is that it was an all-around alltimer."

PFF also gave Gay a 90.0 or better the past two seasons in pass coverage. The Chiefs have been sorely lacking in the linebacker coverage department and it looks like Gay has a chance to help there right away. However, he is very raw and has still only actually started a handful of games at the college level because of a suspension that cut last season short. So Gay will require some coaching.

Dane Brugler of the Athletic had this to say about him in his draft guide (another must have):

"Gay owns the athletic twitch and pursuit speed that is the medicine for horizontal offenses, chasing down jet sweeps and defending both sidelines. While he plays with passion, his decision-making (on and off the field) deserves scrutiny."

Gay plays with such speed and aggression that he can sometimes run himself out of a play and will need to learn to be patient at times in order to not get fooled. However, when he attacks he is a force of nature. The KC Draft Guide actually compared him to Derrick Johnson in terms of his upside. In that regard, I don’t think anyone will have a problem with giving Gay a very high grade for his long term upside. He definitely also fills a need and will have a chance to make an immediate impact next season. However, it probably is worth questioning if a player that had noted academic issues will have time to pick up the defense in a shortened offseason in order to start right away.

The final question is about the value in his draft slot. There were two other linebackers that went shortly after Gay in Logan Wilson and Zack Baun. Offensive tackle Josh Jones was seen as the best lineman available at the time and cornerbacks Cameron Dantzler and Bryce Hall (who we’ll discuss later) were there as well. Most of those players were rated higher on the composite big board than Gay (who was #89), but in the end, the Chiefs got arguably the most athletically impressive linebacker in this draft at the end of the second round. While some may have preferred a cornerback, I don’t think you can argue too much with the value of this pick. Given that two linebackers went off the board right after him, I certainly don’t think you can argue that he would have still been available when the Chiefs picked in the third round.

Draft Slot Value Grade: B+
Fit With Chiefs Grade: A
Need/Immediate Impact Grade: A-
Long Term Upside Grade: A+

Overall Pick Grade: A-

Next up, K.C. picks up an offensive lineman in the third round.