Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach joined the Arrowhead Addict podcast for an exclusive interview and provided some great stories about the team’s young linebackers.
Something special has been developing in the heart of the Kansas City Chiefs defense over the last couple of years as general manager Brett Veach has elected to invest high-level draft assets into the linebacker position with the selection of Willie Gay Jr. and Nick Bolton in successive drafts in 2020 and 2021. Coming into the 2022 season, the duo look like they could become one of the NFL’s most dynamic linebacker tandems and, as Veach recently told us, it’s almost as if “they were made to play with each other.”
The Chiefs landed Bolton back in the ’21 draft as part of a draft haul that included center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith, one of the most celebrated draft classes in recent team history. Gay came before that as a high-ceiling linebacker who could elevate play at the position for the first time in years since Derrick Johnson was in his prime. With other exciting young players in waiting, including this year’s third-rounder in Leo Chenal, the team is truly stacked at the position.
On Wednesday, Veach took the time to sit down with the Arrowhead Addict podcast to discuss a number of subjects, including the potential in the middle of the defensive unit. Read below what he had to say about his young, dynamic linebacker duo and watch the video below for the full interview.
Matt Verderame (Arrowhead Addict): I wanted to talk about Nick Bolton and Willie Gay. Both guys have come in and done a really nice job, Bolton as a rookie last year coming on stronger and strong with each game. Gay really stepped into his role last year and he seems like he’s having a strong camp … Despite their backgrounds being so different and the players being so different in a lot of ways, what led you to feeling like both guys were what you were looking for?
Brett Veach: “It’s funny, I was just having a conversation with Charles Davis about those two linebackers. They have a unique chemistry. Those guys knew each other a little bit before their time at Missouri and Mississippi State. If I rewind time back to two weeks before Bolton was drafted, I’d bumped into Willie Gay a couple of weeks before the draft and he kind of bumped me on how everything was going with the draft and what it looked like. He asked if I was looking at linebackers.
“I said, ‘We’re keeping our eyes open at all positions.’ I kind of jokingly said, ‘Why?’ Typically when you ask a young guy, they’re hoping you draft guys at different positions, right? He said, ‘Make sure you take an extra look at this Bolton kid.’ It was almost like this… on one end, they had a prior rapport. But on the other end, it was almost like those two were made to play with each other.
“They complement each other so well. You have a guy like Nick Bolton who played a ton of snaps who is super smart, super instinctive, and he’s really grown into the leader of that defense and gets everyone into the right position. Then you have a guy like Willie Gay that is just a phenomenal, incredible athlete who has tremendous range and speed. It’s almost like those guys have a chemistry together. Nick gets Willie where he needs to be and Willie knows that and they play off each other. Nick knows that if he can get Willie in certain positions, he can make plays that most linebackers can’t.
“It’s been cool to see how this process started with Willie bringing that up out of the blue and taking me by surprise to us being able to draft him and then seeing those guys cut it loose at the end of last year and having an offseason together. I think you’re seeing early on that it’s a special combination. We’re excited to have both of those guys for sure.”