We have only six days remaining until the New Orleans Saints Week 1 kickoff against the Carolina Panthers, making today’s player of the day Willie Gay Jr, the current wearer of the No. 6 jersey. With the linebacker core shifting for 2024, the new addition for New Orleans has a chance to take snaps away from Pete Werner, among others.
Let’s take a look at the background of Gay Jr. before looking into what we can expect from him in the 2024 season.
- Name (Age): Willie Gay Jr. (26)
- Position: Linebacker
- Height, weight: 6-foot-1, 243 pounds
- Relative Athletic Score: 9.70
- 2024 salary cap hit: $3,000,000
- College: Mississippi State
- Drafted: Round 2 Pick 63 (Kansas City Chiefs)
- NFL experience: 5th season
The Saints have made a solid few additions this offseason in hopes of solidifying their team both with starters and depth, Willie Gay Jr. is somewhere in the middle. Initially, he was viewed as a starting candidate who would receive significant snaps after a somewhat down season for Pete Werner and a tough start to camp. However, an improvement later in camp and an extension have vaulted Werner back into starting contention, which makes the linebacking unit extremely intriguing as the Saints typically only run two linebackers on the field at one time. Presumably, we can expect both Werner and Gay Jr. to get playing time in different scenarios, which is why both are viewed so highly alongside Demario Davis.
Gay Jr. is coming off a somewhat down season, as well, having only 58 total tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, four pass deflections and an interception. However, he did also have three fumble recoveries and a career-best 76.4 passer rating allowed when targeted. His success in pass defense as well as impact plays was not noted statistically, but he did receive a career high in defensive snaps with 624 played, as well as a career high 15 games started. We will see what scenarios he plays in come the 2024 season given these scenarios.