Willie Gay earned rave reviews at running back before Chiefs draft

James Palmer says Chiefs defenders sound excited about Willie Gay addition.

When the Kansas City Chiefs selected Willie Gay Jr. in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, they had already fulfilled any need in the offensive backfield.

With the first round pick of LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs found their feature back of the future and he will soon join an already crowded committee that will make for fierce competition. However James Palmer of NFL Network recently supplied an interesting draft detail that might bring Gay into the fold at an already stacked position.

While the Chiefs undoubtedly drafted Gay to take over an outside linebacker spot as a strong coverage player they’ve been lacking in recent years, Palmer had a great anecdote about the sort of athleticism he brings to the table. Namely, a major SEC head coach called Gay the “best running back at the high school level he’s ever seen.” Here’s what Palmer had to say in a recent report.

"“Andy Reid talked to Dan Mullen, the head coach at Florida, before the draft and Mullen said he was the best running back at the high school level he’s ever seen,” said Palmer. “Now he only played a couple games at running back, but that shows you the type of athlete they’re getting at the linebacker spot to help out this defense that can go in there and stuff the run but also Andy Reid wants him to be that guy that can go out and cover tight ends and cover running backs in the passing game with that athletic ability.”"

Willie Gay put on a clinic at the NFL Combine by running the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds as a 240 pound linebacker. That’s faster than wideouts like Jalen Reagor or CeeDee Lamb or running backs like D’Andre Swift and Cam Akers. He also put up the second highest vertical leap among linebackers at 39.5 inches.

Gay only played a few games at running back overall in his career at Starkville High School in Starkville, Mississippi. During his senior year, he had 81 carries for 565 yards and 9 touchdowns—good for a 7.0 yards/carry average.

The idea that Gay brings the sort of athleticism that would allow him to excel at such a high level offensively is just what fans and even Chiefs players apparently want to hear about his addition at linebacker. Palmer reported that he talked to Chiefs defenders and they sounded excited by the addition.

"“They want this defense to take a big step. Remember, they took a big step the second half of last year,” said Palmer. “This is just now year two under Steve Spagnuolo, and that’s that rangy sideline-to-sideline linebacker type that maybe has been missing from this group. He brings a ton of energy. Talking to players on that side of the ball, they love that he kind of has that playing style that the leader of that group in Tyrann Mathieu has if you make a big play, you want to bring energy along with it.”"

Palmer says that the Chiefs plan to give Gay the starting mike linebacker role and will “let him grow” from there. If he can stay ahead on the mental side, limit his rookie mistakes, and keep any character concerns in the rearview mirror, it sounds as the Chiefs could have a very exciting young player on their hands.