Las Vegas Raiders Draft: 5 Defensive Winners from the 2020 NFL Combine
By Matt Holder
Willie Gay Jr.
To say that Willie Gay Jr. was under the radar before this weekend is a bit of an understatement. The Draft Network has him ranked as the 338th player overall and NFL.com graded him as a practice squad player. Off-field issues are a big reason for the lack of hype as Gay missed eight out of 13 games this past season, however, he made headlines in a good way this weekend.
The Mississippi State product finished just behind Simmons in the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.46 seconds, and finished first and second among linebackers in the broad (136 inches) and vertical jumps (39.5 inches) while weighing in at 243 pounds.
Gay also showed off some power by putting up 21 reps on the bench press which was good enough to tie for fifth-best at his position group. Of course, he’ll have to show teams he’s matured since his college days but he and his agent will definitely get a few more phone calls after that performance.
Spending a first or even third-round pick on the former Bulldog wouldn’t make sense for the Raiders, but he could be a decent late-round target for the team. The Silver and Black hold picks in the fourth (111th overall) and seventh (204th overall) rounds and if Gay’s limited tape matches his combine performance, he might just be exactly what the defense needs.
Albeit, the latter selection is more likely unless the organization makes a trade between now and the draft.