Keion White, EDGE Georgia Tech: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

White was a two-star tight end/edge recruit from Garner Magnet High School in Garner, N.C. in the class of 2017

Georgia Tech defensive lineman Keion White is a converted tight end and transfer from Old Dominion. The sixth-year redshirt senior will fly down to Mobile, Ala. later this month to test his mettle against other top prospects at the Senior Bowl. A strong performance could lock White in as a second round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Keion White, EDGE Georgia Tech: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Sixth year redshirt senior defensive end from Garner, N.C.

Background: White was a two-star tight end/edge recruit from Garner Magnet High School in Garner, N.C. in the class of 2017. He was the No. 3,141 recruit according to 247Sports. White was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals and didn’t receive a star ranking or grade out of 100 from ESPN or On3.com. He played tight end and defensive end in high school, finishing his senior season with 20 receptions for 247 yards and four touchdowns on offense and 41 tackles, seven sacks, and an interception on defense. He earned First-Team All-Greater Neuse River Conference honors that season. White transitioned from tight end to defensive end at Old Dominion ahead of the 2019 season. He transferred to Georgia Tech for the 2021 season.

2022 Production: 12 games, 54 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 41 pressures, 7.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed

2021 Production: 4 games, 4 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss

2020 Production: Season Canceled (COVID-19)

2019 Production: 12 games, 62 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 45 pressures, 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, 1 pass defensed

2018 Production: 8 games, 11 receptions, 124 yards

2017 Production: (Redshirt Year)

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed eight games in 2021 with an ankle injury

Awards: 2019 Second-Team All-Conference USA, 2022 Third-Team All-ACC

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, field goal, and field goal block units, arm length meets NFL requirements, elite linear speed at his size, motor runs hot, speed to challenge wheel routes, quick off the line with good acceleration, attacks inside rush lanes, pushes vertical before attacking the tackle’s inside shoulder, uses upper body strength to soften tackle’s shoulders, two-armed bull rush, long-arm rush, swim move, spin move, push-pull move, dips under the tackle to win outside leverage, relentlessly pursues the quarterback, powerful swipes to generate separation, separates and redirects to the football, shows urgency in pursuit, closing burst to make plays as a backside run defender, hustles to chase down near-side runs to the sideline, some upside shooting gaps, gets upfield quickly to outpace pulling guards, beautiful rep dipping around Pitt left tackle Branson Taylor (2022) and flattening rush, multiple nice plays in run defense beating Georgia (2022) RT Warren McClendon across his face, successfully got his hands into Georgia (2022) LT Broderick Jones’ chest and beat him to the rush apex

Cons: Age, penalized ten times in 2019 and three times in 2022, lack of playing time from 2020-21 (fewer than 700 defensive snaps in the past three years), appears much leaner than his listed weight suggests, slow footspeed, doesn’t display high-end bend, slides off tackle attempts, pad level rises quickly, allows offensive linemen into his frame, finished to the ground because of balance questions and poor leverage, gets caught by the lineman when he tries setting up inside rush moves, heavy reliance on inside rushes makes him predictable, spin move is slow and mechanical, highly inconsistent in ability to execute pass rush moves/plans, many of his big plays were unblocked or extended “hustle” plays, leg drive doesn’t generate consistent displacement, caved in against the run opening outside rush lanes, displaced downfield by double teams, lacks the anchor to play along the interior, inconsistent ability to drop anchor and man a gap, gets stuck on tight end blocks, largely physically outmatched by Broderick Jones, Warren McClendon, and Devin Willock against Georgia (2022)

Overview: White is unofficially listed at 6'5", 286 lbs. He applied pressure on 15.2% of his pass rush attempts in 2019 and 14.86% in 2022. White primarily aligns as a 4 or 5-tech. He also took a handful of snaps at 2 and 3-tech in 2022, but that’s not a role he’ll play significant snaps at when he reaches the NFL. White is experienced rushing from two and three-point stances. He has nearly 400 special teams snaps under his belt split between the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, field goal, and field goal block units. White appeared on Bruce Feldman’s 2022 Freaks List in early August. Per the report, White clocked in at 21 miles per hour despite weighing roughly 290 lbs. at the time. He also jumped 32 inches in the vertical, which would’ve tied Matthew Butler (297 lbs.) and Jordan Davis (341 lbs.) for second place among defensive tackles at the 2022 NFL Combine. White also posted 38 reps of 225 lbs. on the bench, a number that would’ve blown away any other participants’ mark last year. Zion Johnson led all participants in 2022 with 32 reps. White has NFL-caliber arm length and elite linear speed for his size. He plays with a hot motor and is relentless in pursuit. Georgia Tech asked White to cover a few wheel routes in 2022, and he had the speed to stick with much smaller, more agile running backs mostly. The Old Dominion transfer is quick off the line with impressive acceleration. As a pass rusher, he pushes vertically before attacking the tackle’s inside shoulder. He uses his upper body strength to soften the tackle’s outside shoulder. White deploys two-armed bull rushes, long-arm rushes, swims, spins, and push-pull moves with varying degrees of success. He also dips under the tackle on outside rushes to establish leverage and attempt to turn the corner. White uses his powerful swipes to generate separation and redirect to the football. He shows urgency and closing burst in pursuit. The former tight end’s speed lets him chase down near-side runs to the sideline. He made multiple nice plays beating Georgia (2022) right tackle Warren McClendon across his face in run defense. White also successfully got his hands into Georgia left tackle Broderick Jones’ chest and beat him to the rush apex twice.

White is highly inexperienced despite being an older prospect. He played fewer than 700 defensive snaps over the past three years, and it shows in his inconsistent technique. The redshirt senior appears much leaner than his listed weight suggests, which negatively impacts his ability to reduce inside. White has slow feet and lacks impressive bend. His pad level rises quickly, and he allows offensive linemen into his frame. The former two-star recruit found himself finished to the ground several times in 2022 because of poor pad level and questionable balance. His heavy reliance on inside rushes makes him predictable, and he failed to adjust when offensive linemen began anticipating his rush plan. White’s spin move is slow and mechanical. His ability to execute pass rush moves and carry out a pass rush plan is inconsistent at best. He needs to learn to convert speed to power. White doesn’t consistently generate displacement. He gets caved in against the run and frequently surrenders outside rush lanes. White lacks the anchor to play inside, struggles to man his gap, doesn’t set hard edges, and is displaced by double teams. He posted significantly more losses than wins against Broderick Jones, Warren McClendon, and Devin Willock in the Georgia game.

Overall, White offers flashes of greatness with his combination of speed, upper body strength, and arm length, but the college football veteran lacks technical development and consistency across the board. White is a multi-year project who could see rotational snaps as a rookie, but he’s already in his mid-20s. The right coaching staff could get a lot out of him.

Role & Scheme Fit: Defensive end in a 4-3 scheme

Round Projection: Late Third to Mid Fourth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 01-25-23