Gay isn’t clearly much better than Bolton or Niemann—there’s a reason Niemann out-snapped him for much of last season—but he at least offers something different. Linebacker is an underappreciated area of defensive structure, as macroanalyses of defensive success usually focus on pass rush and downfield coverage. But for a defense living in the bargain bin at those positions, linebacker play suddenly becomes really important.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has never invested heavily in good pass rushers. The Chiefs were top-10 in blitz rate in 2020, and look to generate disruption by sending rushers from depth. In the defensive backfield, the Chiefs largely line up and play man coverage—and with a deficiency at corner, they’re suffering for it.