The year is 2020, and the Kansas City Chiefs have a very athletic rookie linebacker named Willie Gay Jr. The Chiefs had just drafted Gay with the 63rd overall pick, and his athleticism was instantly visible to anyone who watched him in training camp or the preseason. However, Kansas City’s defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo opted to play more experienced linebackers with less upside because of their knowledge of his system.

Gay would only play 25% of KC’s defensive snaps during his rookie year. That was the fourth-highest on the team behind Anthony Hitchens, Damien Wilson, and Ben Niemann. The point of this trip down memory lane isn’t to badmouth guys like Damien Wilson and Ben Niemann, but the truth is that they clearly didn’t have the athletic tools of a player like Willie Gay Jr.

Some coordinators would throw a talent like Gay on the field to learn on the job. Spagnuolo, however, has proven on more than one occasion that he would prefer to play a backup-level linebacker like Niemann over an elite physical talent like Gay so that he can count on the linebacker being where he is supposed to be.

Jeffrey Bassa’s path to playing time sounds a lot like that of former Chief Willie Gay Jr.

Fast forward to the present day, and it’s easy to see a similarity with the current situation with rookie linebacker Jeffrey Bassa. Throughout camp and in both of KC’s first two preseason games, Bassa has been one of the most exciting rookies to watch. He’s making plays and flashing a level of speed and athleticism that could make him a valuable asset as part of the Chiefs’ defense.

However, despite all that potential and upside he has shown, Bassa is still running behind guys like Jack Cochrane and Cole Christiansen, both in practice and in the preseason games.

Drue Tranquill has missed time with a back injury the past few weeks, and Nick Bolton didn’t play in last week’s preseason game against the Seahawks. Still, it was Cochrane and Christiansen who got to run with the first team and not Bassa. This isn’t meant to be a knock on Cochrane and Christiansen. They are what they are: special teams players who can fill a fourth or fifth linebacker spot on a roster, but shouldn’t be starting games.

Earlier this summer, Nick Bolton even acknowledged some similarities between the two when he called Bassa a mix between Willie Gay and Leo Chenal. While Bassa’s testing numbers didn’t quite match those of Gay and Chenal, he’s certainly flashing a level of explosiveness that we haven’t seen from a Chiefs linebacker since Gay left town.

If Bassa doesn’t top Gay’s 25 percent of defensive snaps this season, it isn’t the end of the world. Gay became a key contributor to Kansas City’s defense despite his limited playtime as a rookie. Plus, if Bolton, Tranquill, and Leo Chenal are all healthy for the regular season, there won’t be a need for Bassa to play many defensive snaps. What the Chiefs really need is for Bassa to eventually earn Spagnuolo’s trust in a way that Gay never really did.

Gay never topped 70 percent of defensive snaps. Meanwhile, Nick Bolton has topped 87 percent of K.C.’s defensive snaps the past three seasons, including a mind-boggling 98 percent in 2022. Drue Tranquill played almost 80 percent last season. History says that Bassa is more likely to become a special teamer or part-time player than a starter, but with the upside he’s shown thus far, it certainly looks like he has a shot to beat the odds.

Jeffrey Bassa isn’t quite as big or explosive as Gay was, but it’s easy to see the similarities in how their Chiefs careers began. Now it’s just a waiting game to see if Bassa can earn Steve Spagnuolo’s trust and move himself up the depth chart ahead of guys who haven’t flashed nearly as much upside. If he can, it could mean that he will continue to follow in Gay’s footsteps, and just maybe, he has a chance to even surpass his contributions.