2020 NFL Draft: Willie Gay Jr. scouting report
By John Newman
Willie Gay Jr. has been shooting up 2020 NFL Draft boards after a spectacular Combine performance. Learn more about the controversial linebacker from Starkville, Mississippi.
“Off-field issues”.
That is one of the more popular descriptions being written about Mississippi State linebacker Willie Gay Jr. in recent days. Gay outperformed expectations at this year’s Combine and is leaving many analysts wondering where he stands in the hierarchy of the 2020 NFL Draft linebackers.
Should Gay be part of the Isaiah Simmons milieu: elite talent destined to be a first-rounder in the 2020 NFL Draft? Or should Gay join the rank and file of the second round? Or does he belong with the Day 3 players, relegated to obscurity and a spot on the practice squad?
Where Gay belongs in the draft conversation is difficult to ascertain, since it is almost impossible to know just how much “off-field issues” play a role in draft decision-making. We can only assume that criteria is different for each general manager, their preferences, the nature of the prospects “off-field issues” and to what extent they could affect the team.
Is Gay the next Bobby Wagner or just another Combine warrior? How well did he do as a Mississippi State Bulldog? What is his background and what makes him such an interesting prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft?
In this scouting report, we’ll explore these questions and review Gay as a prospect. We’ll explore his background as a young man growing up in Mississippi. Following that, we’ll review Gay as a player: the things that show up on game tape and his phenomenal Combine performance. Finally, we’ll discuss three NFL teams that Gay would do well with, based on positional need and draft history.
But first, let’s review the so-called “off-field issues” that are plaguing Gay’s draft process. While the claims are ubiquitous across multiple reports of Gay, these issues are rarely described in detail or nuance.
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