Chicago Bears

Why Kevin White's Success is Inevitable

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Despite the fact that Bears WR Kevin White hasn’t lived up to the high expectations just yet, his elite upside makes his success in the NFL inevitable.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — Kevin White was the best wide receiver taken in the 2015 NFL Draft. I’m well aware that Bama’s Amari Cooper was picked three spots before him, but not because he’s a better receiver. The Raiders gave Cooper the nod because he was more polished coming out of college. He was the safer bet when it came to making an impact right away.
With that said — thank you, Reggie McKenzie, for leaving the best wide receiver on the table.

I don’t know about you, but when I realized that Kevin White dropped to the Bears’ 7th-overall pick, I couldn’t help but dance out of excitement. I even attempted to do the infamous “Worm” when he and Goodell held up the jersey saying “WHITE” on the historic navy blue and orange (I hope that helps painting my picture).

After an underwhelming preseason and a rather modest 13 receptions for 132 in the first three games of the season, that same excitement is still there. The expectations are still high because I know White’s hands, size, and blazing speed will have me do the worm (and probably severely injure myself) sooner than later — and quite frankly, I’m looking forward to it.

The reason for my optimism is the fact that Kevin White has no limitations on the football field whatsoever. You can take advantage of his slipperiness and 4.35 speed on screen passes and down the field. He’s exceptionally gifted in 50-50 ball situations (maybe not as dangerous as Alshon Jeffery, but then again — who is?).

White’s a quick-twitch athlete whose agility and explosiveness create considerable separation, which overshadows his at times sloppy footwork (which only proves his talent). At 6-3/215 lbs, his body strength is surprisingly close to that of a tight end. He runs through tacklers with authority but also has the quickness, coordination, and cuts to consistently rack up yards after the catch.

But most importantly — Kevin White is the definition of a natural ball catcher, and his instincts are beyond dispute. His only real weakness might be his route running, but he made big strides as a route runner in 2014 as a West Virginia Mountaineer, and considering his enormous potential, he will undoubtedly continue to do so as a Chicago Bear.

Ok, @mrkevinwhite!

This one-handed, over the CB catch is ???? #CHIvsDAL https://t.co/ExwTbviCuI

— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2016

So, why aren’t we seeing stats that suggest he’ll finish the 2016 season in similar fashion he completed his final year at WVU (109 receptions for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns)? The answer is simple: He needs more time. More time to learn the playbook and to internalize it. Not just in the classroom, but on the field as well. More time to fully recover from his stress fracture and adapt to the speed of the NFL. More time to get the confidence boost he needs in order to dominate the way he did in college. All the physical tools in the world are at his disposal. He and the Bears staff just need more time to figure out how to utilize them (ideally this season).

WR screens and slants are a great way to sort of ease Kevin White into the system by giving him more touches, but at some point, I’d like to see Dowell Loggains and company take advantage of his speed down the field more often. There’s no doubt that short and intermediate routes will get him in a rhythm, but only posts, fades, and some corner routes will give him the confidence boost he needs to live up to the expectations as soon as this year.