Sophomore Surge: Willie Gay is ready for larger role with KC Chiefs

ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 19: Willie Gay Jr. #50 of the Kansas City Chiefs blocks Darryl Johnson #92 of the Buffalo Bills on a kickoff during the second half at Bills Stadium on October 19, 2020 in Orchard Park, New York. Kansas City beats Buffalo 26-17. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 19: Willie Gay Jr. #50 of the Kansas City Chiefs blocks Darryl Johnson #92 of the Buffalo Bills on a kickoff during the second half at Bills Stadium on October 19, 2020 in Orchard Park, New York. Kansas City beats Buffalo 26-17. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 22: Linebacker Willie Gay Jr. #50 of the Kansas City Chiefs warms up before the NFL game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on November 22, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Chiefs defeated the Raiders 35-31. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 22: Linebacker Willie Gay Jr. #50 of the Kansas City Chiefs warms up before the NFL game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on November 22, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Chiefs defeated the Raiders 35-31. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Opportunity Knocks

No matter what the situation is, no player can take a step forward and show what they can do unless the most important thing happens; they actually get on the field. Gay has the chance to do just that this season for Kansas City.

Damien Wilson has been a solid, if unspectacular, contributor for the Chiefs defense in his tenure with the team. Last season, he played in a total of 61% of defensive snaps (in games that he was active) and now will look to do the same for the Jacksonville Jaguars this season. That is a lot of vacated snaps, which means a lot of room for Willie Gay to see the field.

Some of these snaps will hopefully also be filled by Bolton, the Chiefs newest second round selection at linebacker. Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is notorious for not playing rookies on defense full time, at least early on. Gay is a prime example of this and saw only 26% of snaps his rookie year. I expect Bolton to be in the 30-35% range, basically taking over Gay’s role last year, as well as cutting into some of Ben Niemann’s workload.

Gay should fit in nicely for Wilson, providing the Chiefs with a rangy, athletic linebacker to pair with field general Anthony Hitchens. Obviously, it isn’t only about getting an opportunity, but also what he can do with his playing time that matters.