The excitement over the 2020 NFL Draft class extends throughout Chiefs Kingdom and into the Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room. The veteran players in Kansas City will be tasked with helping the rookie class adapt to their new environment and learn the NFL game. For veteran LB Anthony Hitchens, he’s very excited about the skillset that former Mississippi State LB Willie Gay Jr. will bring to the linebacker unit.
“He’s rangey,” Hitchens began. “You look at his body type, he’s rangey. He’s got a lot of tools that you need to stop the run. He can go sideline to sideline. He’s physical. He’s got energy. Energy stops the run. If someone makes a tackle it could be one yard, minus one yard, maybe two yards, but the energy that you bring when you get the guy, it brings more energy out of other players. We need more guys like that. If you ever watch for example T5, every time he makes a play, he’s doing something. He tries to energize the defense letting guys know that I just made a play, everybody else let’s do it. That’s the type of energy he’s going to bring and he’s rangey with his arms and keeping guys off of him, cut block, getting off blocks and then making tackles.”
Hitchens had some good players to learn from in the locker room in Dallas when he entered the league in 2014. Guys like Sean Lee and Rolando McClain played a pivotal role in his development as a player and professional. He hopes to be that same type of role model for the young linebackers joining the Chiefs.
“I texted [Willie Gay Jr.] the other day and he was asking me what he needed to learn,” Hitchens continued. “I told him, ‘learn the playbook, you have enough ability to play, obviously, we drafted you and I just can’t wait to work with you. I’m going to give you all of the knowledge that I know to the game so that you can give it to the next guy under you.’ That’s my biggest thing is just giving knowledge to the younger guys so they can keep passing it along so to speak.”
Hitchens could be threatened by the Chiefs’ decision to draft Gay Jr., but instead, he’s playing his part in ensuring that the rookie and everyone in the linebacker room is ready to play at a high level. That’s the mark of a true professional and a player that puts winning above all else.
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