White looks like the next versatile Patriot
Keion White could be the next great study in versatility for the Patriots.
New England’s second-round pick out of Georgia Tech is classified as a defensive end, but Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key said that given White’s combination of size and athleticism, as well as his football background, the 6-foot-5-inch, 290-pounder is tough to label.
“He had the athletic ability of what you would see an offensive skill player have, but also the tenacity of what you want at the defensive line position,” Key said. “He has a unique blend of size, speed, and power.”
After playing on both sides of the ball in high school, White started his college career as a tight end at Old Dominion with 11 catches for 124 yards as a freshman, but flipped to the other side of the ball as a sophomore. After transferring to Georgia Tech and adding more than 20 pounds, he quickly became a defensive staple, and finished last season with 7.5 sacks and a team-high 14 tackles for loss, while being used at multiple spots along the line.
But while he flourished as a pass rusher at Georgia Tech, Key alluded to the fact that White’s immediate future could be in multiple spots for the Patriots. On offense, that could mean several things, as Tech occasionally leaned on his background — and size — in the red zone, as well as other areas.
“He was such a big body for us that there’s a lot of things to do with him. We did mess around with some different goal-line and short-yardage packages on offense,” Key said of White, who also saw occasional action on special teams.
On defense, that could mean spots as a pass rusher, run stuffer, or in coverage.
“He was [defending] wheel routes down the sidelines and making plays on the football from a defensive end position at 280 pounds,” Key said of the 24-year-old. “Some of the DNA that he has in him can translate to either side, if they chose to do that.
“Defensively, he has the versatility to play in a four-down front, to play as a big end on the edge, and to control the C [gap] and the tight end on the line of scrimmage. Or to kick down and play inside on some of the threedown stuff,” Key added.
“But I think he’s really going to have a future moving forward in those pass-rush situations. Everyone is spreading the ball out different ways in the NFL, and to be able to get those one-on-one matchups with the guard and kick down to the three-technique and get those one-on-ones with a guy like that is important.”
Key, who served as the offensive line coach at Alabama from 2016-18, took over as the head coach at Georgia Tech in 2022. He said that like most rookies, White’s biggest test out of the gate will be building consistency. Simply getting on the field early will present a test for the rookie, but his size, speed, versatility, and intelligence should work in his favor when it comes to playing time.
“You need to improve every day,” Key said.
“Not saying he didn’t do that; he was a consistently improving guy. But in [the NFL], it’s short-lived, and if you can’t get in there, you can’t compete and you can’t be versatile. With the limited number of people on the roster, defensive sets and fronts and personnel, matching offensive personnel, that’s where he’s going to really accelerate. I think his intelligence will really help him do multiple things like that.”
White gained a small measure of Internet fame when his blasé-looking draft night response to being taken by the Patriots went viral. (White later explained his reaction was because he was “a pretty chill person.”)
But Key said that even though there was some emotion from White after he heard his name called, that all-business reaction exemplifies the sort of player the Patriots landed with the 46th overall pick.
“I don’t believe that was the exact time of his name being called or whatnot, because I talked to him right after that, and he was excited. He was emotional,” Key said. “But he is a stoic person. Even though that might not have been the exact moment, it is a little bit of a snapshot of who Keion is. He’s very serious. Very businesslike. That’s who he is all the time.
“He’s not going to be a boisterous, loud personality. He’s going to play the game to the whistle. He’s going to play hard. He’s not going to be someone you read about who is going to be a disgrace to the team, the organization. He’s a businessman. He’s mature; he’s older than his years. I think he’ll walk in and fit in in that locker room right away.”