L’Jarius Sneed, Clyde Edwards-Helaire lead Chiefs rookie contributions

Willie Gay Jr.

Second round pick Willie Gay, Jr.’s usage on the Chiefs’ defense rose again from Week 2, as the former Mississippi State standout played in nine defensive plays, which amounted to 16% of the team’s defensive snaps. What’s more, he looked pretty good doing so while also still playing 60% of the special teams’ snaps for the team. That is (obviously) not a great amount, obviously, but that does not mean that is is not a significant development.

Gay’s usage rate has increased in each of the first three weeks. It may take him longer to reach peak usage/starting level play than many predicted (including me), but it does seem like he is getting closer and closer to being a solid asset in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.  At this point it is not unreasonable to expect him to have significant snaps by the second half of the season. That is a sigh of relief for Chiefs fans waiting for answers at linebacker.