Willie Gay’s usage by KC Chiefs brings up concern and confusion

Heading into the team’s run toward a third consecutive Super Bowl in 2021, the Kansas City Chiefs had two primary areas—one on each side of the ball—about which they could feel better than the previous year. The one that earned all the attention, and rightfully so, was the offensive line, which was rebuilt left to right in a single offseason. The other position group was linebacker, which was remade over time in more organic fashion.

When Brett Veach was first promoted to be general manager after John Dorsey was allowed to walk, he went to work fairly quick at the linebacker position with the signing of Anthony Hitchens. He lured away the former Dallas Cowboys defender with a lucrative (at that time) deal over a five-year period. Hitchens would become the first seed planted to grow new talent at the position.

From there, Veach went to work with high picks in successive drafts in both 2020 and 2021. First, he grabbed Willie Gay Jr. to be the new anchor of the group—the prospect with the highest overall ceiling due to his rare blend of size, speed, and strength. While he needed time to acclimate to the pro level, he projected as a positive contributor in every facet of the game, giving the Chiefs a three-down talent who could excel in coverage—which had been an ongoing weakness.

In 2021, the Chiefs grabbed Nick Bolton as a long-term replacement at the Mike role that Hitchens occupies, but also as a short-term help in the run game who could potentially blossom into something greater (and has).

The Chiefs should be leaning heavily on Willie Gay, not burying him on the depth chart.

Now that the postseason is here for the Chiefs, a look at the defensive numbers from Sunday’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round have us curious why Willie Gay was hardly around.

Last year at this time, Gay went down with an injury that would keep him out of the postseason entirely. He was missed, to be sure, as his skill set would have come in handy against the Buccaneers in a game in which Rob Gronkowski had two touchdowns. Now that he’s healthy, Gay should be playing the majority of the snaps—or at least that seems logical.

Instead, Willie Gay played the least amount of defensive snaps of any linebacker on the Chiefs active roster on Sunday. Nick Bolton, Anthony Hitchens, and Ben Niemann all played more. While it’s hard to argue with the results, the truth is that the Chiefs were going to flush the Steelers quickly no matter who played linebacker. The talent differential was just that great.

Moving forward, the competition will get much harder and the climbing much tougher. Gay is going to be instrumental in the Chiefs’ ability to get past the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round and certainly against either the Cincinnati Bengals or Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game.

Coming into the game, the Chiefs had Gay listed with a wrist concern on their injury report, but he even practiced in full all week long. If there was something to rest there, he would have been limited in practice while ramping up to play in the actual game. Then again if Gay had re-injured himself before game time, the team would have made an announcement (like they did with Rashad Fenton who left during pre-game warmups).

Gay had no injury designation before the game or even during it, and after the game, head coach Andy Reid failed to mention anything to do with Gay in his rundown of injury concerns or issues. In short, there’s nothing there from the Chiefs—save for the fact that snap counts reveal a guy buried behind lesser talent.

There is not a world in which playing the other linebackers on the Chiefs defense was the “better play” against the Steelers. Of any player ready to make a difference on this defense, Gay is one of the most important for the Chiefs, a player who Steve Spagnuolo will need to rise up and cancel any mismatches opposing offenses want to create.

The only question is: where was Willie Gay in the Wild Card round and is that any indication of something wrong going forward. It’s a head-scratcher of a situation for now. Let’s hope it doesn’t become a concerning one going forward.