Kansas City Chiefs rookie linebacker Willie Gay Jr. spoke with the media following practice, revealing the different roles that he’s learned so far for the upcoming season. Many predicted that his athleticism and coverage ability would make him a natural fit for the WILL linebacker position. So far he hasn’t been learning that spot in Kansas City.
“Really, I’m just playing two spots right now,” Gay Jr. said. “I’m [playing] SAM in the base. I’m the BUCK linebacker in the nickel — the Buffalo package. Really, I’m just trying to get better at each. You know watching Damien Wilson, somebody that I play behind at both spots. Trying to get better each and every day, just seeing how he does everything and the details from big to small. Like I said, just get better at both of those.”
The “Buffalo” package that Gay Jr. describes is what the NFL considers the big nickel. That package specifically substitutes an extra safety for one of the outside linebackers. The Chiefs used this package often in 2019, especially late in the season when they had Tyrann Mathieu, Daniel Sorensen and Kendall Fuller healthy. The BUCK role, which Gay Jr. is learning, is played by Damien Wilson (right hashmark) in the image below.
Here’s a look at the play in motion, just to get an idea of his responsibilities.
At the end of the day, the big takeaway from this is that Gay Jr. is still learning. He hasn’t earned a starting role on the defense yet, but he’s working in behind Wilson and learning from him specifically.
A lot can change in a matter of weeks with injuries and as things start to slow down for players. In March of 2019, reports based on what coaches and Brett Veach had said put Anthony Hitchens at WILL, Reggie Ragland at MIKE and Wilson at SAM linebacker positions. That wouldn’t end up being the case in Week 1 or by midseason.
The Chiefs were still experimenting and finding the best trio of linebackers well into the 2020 season. That’ll likely remain the case for the upcoming season too. For all we know, the Chiefs could play Wilson at WILL in the base package as they did last season and move Gay Jr. to the starting SAM spot. It’s still up in the air at this point of the season.
