Chiefs snap counts: Willie Gay Jr. makes his first start vs. Patriots

A look at the snap counts from the Chiefs victory over the Patriots.

Looking at a game’s snap counts can provide insight into how a coaching staff is developing its own players, and the Kansas City Chiefs win in Week 4 over the New England Patriots is definitely telling.

Starting with the surprising and impressive Chiefs defense, the much-anticipated rookie LB Willie Gay Jr. finally had a chance to make an impact playing 25 snaps (32.9%). Ben Niemann saw a subsequent drop in playing time going from 42.9% of the defensive snaps in week 3 to 26.3% in week 4.

With Chris Jones out and Michael Danna going down early Tershawn Wharton and Mike Pennel saw significant increases in snap count, +34% and +30% respectively.

The injury to L’Jarius Sneed opened the door for Antonio Hamilton who got 25 snaps. Tyran Mathieu, Juan Thornhill, and Rashad Fenton played nearly every snap with Thornhill sitting on only 2 plays. Fenton has been an incredible bright spot for this team and has played 212 of the 215 defensive plays in the last three weeks. With a banged-up cornerback group, Mathieu has spent a significant amount of time in the slot. It will be interesting to monitor how the CB group shakes out next week with the return of Bashaud Breeland.

Offensively there were not any surprises. It was very good to see Andrew Wylie back on the field and healthy after a scare last week. He and the rest of the line played 100% of the offensive snaps, along with QB Patrick Mahomes.  Although Clyde Edwards-Helaire saw his lowest snap count of the year, it was actually his highest percentage of snaps at 73%. Darrell Williams played only 15 snaps and saw only 1 carry. This is Clyde The Glyde’s backfield. Darwin Thompson, after a few miscues last week, was not able to see the field.

The Mecole Hardman saga continues as he still seems to be underutilized by this coaching staff with only 26 snaps (46%), although he may finally be overtaking Demarcus Robinson who saw 23 snaps and was not targeted by Mahomes (1 target in last 2 weeks).  Tyreek Hill (52 snaps, 92%), Sammy Watkins (46 snaps, 82%)  are mainstays in the lineup when healthy.

Travis Kelce was on the field for 46 snaps (76%) which was his lowest of the young season. The Patriots always seem to have a solid game plan for Kelce, so it is likely Andy Reid leaned into other matchups slightly more.