The New England Patriots overhauled their pass-rush in the offseason, signing Harold Landry III, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Milton Williams to improve the team’s horrendous defense. Last year, the Patriots recorded a league-low 28 sacks, and of those 28, Keion White had five, tying for the most on the team along with Deatrich Wise Jr.
White had four of five sacks in the first two games, struggling to produce after his hot start. Since then, White has been on a steady decline and has seen himself drop on the team’s depth chart.
After a quiet Week 1 performance, White must step up his play or see a continued loss of reps.
Keion White Must Step Up in Week 2
In the Patriots’ loss to the Raiders on Sunday, White played in just 29 of the 63 defensive snaps. The majority of the reps at edge belonged to Landry and Chaisson, both of whom started the game over White.
Although it’s only one game, it’s evident that the Patriots prefer the two over White, who was ineffective in his limited snaps. Coming off the bench, White recorded only two total tackles, receiving a 46.1 overall grade per PFF.
Meanwhile, Landry recorded two and a half sacks and eight total tackles, while Chaisson recorded half a sack and two total tackles. With Landry and Chaisson both having stellar performances, things aren’t looking good for White.
In his last 16 games, White has recorded only one sack, 45 total tackles, four tackles for loss, and nine quarterback hits. The former second-round selection has yet to take the leap many expected him to take coming out of college.
In his four-year college career, White split time at Old Dominion and Georgia Tech, where he recorded 11 sacks, 122 total tackles, and 34 tackles for loss. The Patriots had hoped White would become their next star pass-rusher, but his lack of production has failed to meet these expectations.
While it’s still early to label him a bust, it’s clear that the new regime doesn’t believe he’s starter worthy, as they demoted him behind Chaisson. Even if he’s on a limited snap count, White must show the Patriots something in the next few games or else his future with the team is in question.
White potentially has the perfect opportunity to demonstrate he deserves more playing time this week, as Landry is on the injured report with a foot injury. If Landry is unable to play, White will likely start the game alongside Chaisson against a horrific Dolphins’ offensive line that gave up three sacks last week.
White must be dominant against the run or pass if he wants a chance at getting an increase in snaps.