Willie Gay Jr. Overview
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6’-1”
Weight: 243 pounds
School: Mississippi State
NFL Combine Performance Data
40-Yard Dash: 4.46 seconds
Bench Press: 21 reps
Vertical Jump: 39.5”
Broad Jump: 136.0”
3 Cone Drill: 7.08 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.3 seconds
Willie Gay Jr. 2020 NFL Draft Profile
After three years at Mississippi State, linebacker Willie Gay Jr opted to skip his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft. Thanks to a combination of injuries and suspensions, Gay hardly saw the field in 2019. He ended up playing for only 177 snaps, recording 23 tackles, four assists, and three missed tackles while on the field.
Gay initially joined the college football ranks as a four-star recruit. After receiving interest from several major programs, Guy opted to stick around in his home state of Missouri. Gay played in 214 snaps as a true freshman, recording 21 tackles, six assists, and one missed tackle. The linebacker saw his role expand in 2018, recording 31 tackles, five assists, and five missed tackles on 455 total snaps.
Strengths
- Fantastic speed and athleticism;
- Excels in coverage against both tight ends and running backs;
- Instinctual coverage player that trusts his reads and makes plays on the ball;
- Exceptional testing at the NFL combine;
- Improved play against the run in 2019.
Weaknesses
- Has yet to handle a full season of starter reps;
- Even with his improvement in 2019, doesn’t project as a great run defender at the next level;
- Slight character concerns with multiple suspensions;
- Drop off into deeper zones can be sloppy;
- Tackling fundamentals could be improved.
NFL Comparison: Darron Lee
Teams With Need at Position: Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, New York Jets, Washington Redskins
Projection: Rounds 3-4
Bottom Line on Willie Gay Jr.
Willie Gay Jr is the type of linebacker made for today’s NFL. While the Mississippi State product isn’t great against the run, he’s a great fit as a coverage linebacker. Blessed with some of the best speed in the class, Gay can move all over the field and hold his own against tight ends and running backs. Additionally, he has the instincts to know where the ball is going and is capable of reading a quarterback and making a play on the ball. In today’s pass-happy NFL, this skill set carries more value than a traditional run-stopping linebacker.
Gay has a high ceiling, but he carries more than his fair share of question marks. For one, he never to be a full-time starter at Mississippi State, and that doesn’t bode well for his NFL future. Additionally, he missed a sizable chunk of 2019 with an undisclosed suspension. Most reports believe to stem from cheating on a Chemistry test, which obviously isn’t a big deal. However, NFL teams are going to need to do their research and make sure that this, or either of his other two suspensions, aren’t more nefarious than the public knows. If teams are comfortable with the risk Gay poses, then he could be a smart pickup in the middle of the draft.
Main photo:
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