How Patriots view versatile second-round draft pick Keion White
The New England Patriots continued to add to their already top-tier defense Friday night by drafting Georgia Tech defensive lineman Keion White with the 46th overall pick. A team source described White, who’s a massive edge defender at 6-foot-5, 281 pounds, as a physical, tough defensive end with some flexibility play inside. Another source said […]
The New England Patriots continued to add to their already top-tier defense Friday night by drafting Georgia Tech defensive lineman Keion White with the 46th overall pick.
A team source described White, who’s a massive edge defender at 6-foot-5, 281 pounds, as a physical, tough defensive end with some flexibility play inside. Another source said White can play on the edge on early downs and has inside rush ability. He brings “natural power” to his game.
New England already upgraded their secondary by drafting Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez with the 17th overall pick.
White ran a 4.79-second 40-yard dash at his pro day. He posted a 34-inch vertical leap and 9-feet, 9-inch broad jump at the NFL Scouting Combine and bench pressed 225 pounds 30 times with 34-inch arms. As a defensive end, he has a relative athletic score of 9.49. As a defensive tackle, he has a 9.91 RAS. Either way, he’s an elite athlete for his size.
White played all over Georgia Tech’s defensive line last season from the edge to five-technique defensive end and defensive tackle. He registered 41 pressures with seven sacks and four QB hits, per PFF. He also made 28 run stops and even dropped into coverage 27 times.
White started off his college career as a tight end at Old Dominion. He transferred to Georgia Tech in 2021 but missed most of that season.
At 24 years old, White is an older prospect. He joins Matthew Judon, Deatrich White, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Ronnie Perkins and DaMarcus Mitchell among Patriots edge defenders. He can also share time with Davon Godchaux, Lawrence Guy, Christian Barmore, Daniel Ekuale, Carl Davis, Sam Roberts and Jeremiah Pharms if he kicks inside to defensive tackle on passing downs.
One consistent knock on White is that his technique needs to be cleaned up, but the Patriots certainly have the coaching to work on that in Foxboro.
The Patriots still have needs on offense at offensive tackle, wide receiver and tight end. They have one more pick on Day 2 in the third round, four picks in the fourth round, four more in the sixth round and one in the seventh round.
