4. Willie Gay Jr.
Willie Gay Jr. is the most physically gifted linebacker on the Chiefs roster and has been since he arrived in Kansas City. Despite that, the Chiefs have often kept him off the field in favor of less talented linebackers that they trust more. In both of his first two seasons in Kansas City, he finished 4th amongst linebackers in playing time behind guys like Anthony Hitchens, Damien Wilson, and Ben Niemann. Finally, last season he moved up to second in defensive snaps by a linebacker, but still only played about 53% of the defensive snaps (compared to Nick Bolton’s 97.5%).
Gay now finds himself going into the last year of his Chiefs contract. His “boom” scenario would be continuing to build upon his increased playing time last season and proving himself to be too talented to keep off the field. Gay’s size combined with his coverage upside and sideline-to-sideline speed should allow him to stay on the field far more than just 53% of the defensive snaps. If he plays up to his talent and can stay on the field he could be a Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker that the Chiefs re-sign and keep paired with Nick Bolton long-term.
The problem for Gay is that the Chiefs went out and signed Drue Tranquill this offseason. Tranquill also has great coverage skills and a reputation for being a guy that stays on the field. He played over 93% of the snaps for the Los Angeles Chargers last season. Maybe Tranquill was brought in to ease Nick Bolton’s workload. You can certainly make an argument that Gay and Tranquill would be the two best coverage linebackers in two linebacker sets. That having been said, the “bust” scenario for Gay is that his percentage of defensive snaps drops back below 50% and he’s the clear third linebacker behind Bolton and Tranquill. This would show that KC’s staff simply doesn’t think his raw talent is enough and that this will be his final year in Kansas City.
One of the top things on my must-watch list for OTAs and the start of training camp is how the linebacker rotation is working and how they plan on using each guy. Willie Gay still has elite upside and could be a star player, but I’m worried that his time to prove that in Kansas City could be running out.
Next up, let’s go back to another wide receiver.