Chiefs 2021 Breakout Candidate: Willie Gay

Entering the 2021 season, expectations will begin to shift for certain players. Can players take the next step? Will those individuals be able to carve out more well-rounded roles? Inside the Kansas City Chiefs locker room, there are some notable breakout candidates to keep in mind for this upcoming season. Our first focus will fall to the linebacker position with second year player Willie Gay.

Linebacker is one of the more difficult positions to play in today’s NFL. Being able to handle multiple roles from snap to snap is paramount. Doing the dirty work and going unnoticed becomes commonplace. Nonetheless, if Willie Gay continues to take the steps necessary on being a three down linebacker, he will be able to breakout during this upcoming season.

Increased Role?

Last season, Gay was mostly used as a special teams player during his rookie campaign. There was an uptick in his usage on defense late in the season. However, that was short lived in part because of the high ankle sprain he suffered right before the start of the postseason. In total, Gay played 55 percent of the snaps on special teams during the season (241). His defensive snaps sat at 25 percent of the total for the season (267), according to Pro Football Reference.

So far in training camp, Gay has ran with the ones on seemingly every snap. The real only current battle within that particular position has largely been between veteran Anthony Hitchens and rookie Nick Bolton. At least early on, it appears as though the Chiefs will be picking up with where they left off with Gay from late last year. Kansas City truly believes he is ready to take the reins in the middle of the defense.

Part of the reason the team feels they are comfortable with him now, is due to the versatility he provides. Gay quietly disrupted the opponent’s backfield behind the line of scrimmage on occasion. His play recognition and keys on where the play was going improved steadily week after week. Meanwhile, the Mississippi State product proved why he was one of the highest rated pass coverage linebackers during his college career. Gay provides a consistent awareness and nose for the football, while also being quick to get his arms in the throwing lane. Will Kansas City increase the tasks of Willie Gay in 2021?

Run Defense Traits

There are a couple of positive traits from which to build off of from Gay’s run defense in 2020. First off, the linebacker does well to take advantage of his range. Willie Gay has ample opportunities to make plays, due to sound angles. This shows up the most when working sideline to sideline. However, Gay impressed quickly last year when being able to shoot gaps and close downhill. His stops behind the line of scrimmage can certainly continue to increase in the near future with that.

Meanwhile, Willie Gay is a violent tackler. This is a bit surprising or an underrated aspect of his game. There are little to no wasted movements once he realizes where the ball is going. Then once Gay reaches the ball carrier, he proved that he could coil and fly through the opponent.

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Where could he improve in this area? In order to fully take the next step as a great, young linebacker Gay will need to diagnose plays quicker. The reaction time is stellar after making the read. Nonetheless, keying and identifying the plays at an accelerated pace will be vital to the growth of Willie Gay.

Pass Defense Traits

As mentioned above, Gay was one of the highest rated pass coverage linebackers in recent college football history. Like his run defense, there are a couple of items that you enjoy seeing early on.

Starting off with his nose for the football, there is generally no passes out of the reach of Gay. He has the short area quickness needed to get a hand on the ball, even if it may appear out of reach. His body control allows him to get a hand in the throwing lane on seemingly every pass attempt as well. Additionally, Gay does well to stay on top of short to intermediate routes. He tends to stick close to the opponent’s hip in these instances.

Where could he improve in this area? As well as Gay did against shorter routes in the middle of the field, he will need to learn how to better trail in coverage. This goes for either routes down the field or to the outer portions of the field. If he can break up more passes on these plays, the opposing offense will have to work harder to convert in obvious passing situations.

Dynamic Duo

Not only is it possible to see Willie Gay continue to improve and begin the new era of linebackers in Kansas City. He will not be alone, as far as youthful second level defenders are concerned. 2021 second round pick, Bolton, already has the downhill thumping ability. And despite it just being training camp reps, the Missouri product has already exceeded in certain moments in pass coverage.

It appears more obvious that this could be Hitchens last year with the Chiefs. He is signed through 2022. But, that cap hit will exceed $12 million after this season for the final year of his deal. With money needing to be allotted elsewhere beyond this campaign, it would not be surprising to see Hitchens fall under the cap casualty category next offseason. If Willie Gay has anything to say about it, that transition will be happening as smooth as possible with a strong 2021 season.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles throughout the coming days. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.