New England Patriots 2023 second-round pick Keion White will win DROY
The New England Patriots selected seven players in the 2023 NFL draft.
The player that got the most attention, and rightfully so, was Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who was projected to be a top 10 pick and fell to the Patriots at number 17. This was an excellent pick for the Patriots and should be celebrated and rejoiced as much as it has been.
With Gonzales getting so much attention, it is easy to overlook or even forget about their second-round pick.
With the 46th pick in the draft, New England selected Georgia tech edge rusher Keion White. Like Gonzalez, White was projected to be drafted higher than where he was actually taken, and like Gonzalez, he was an absolute steal.
If you want to know how big of a steal the selection was, all you have to do is compare White's measurements and statistics to the third overall pick in the draft. The player many were calling the best defensive player in the draft which is Alabama's Will Anderson.
In his final year at Georgia Tech, White had 30 hurries and 7.5 sacks on 274 pass snaps. Anderson had 42 hurries and ten sacks, but that was on 382 pass snaps.
Average it out, and White and Anderson hurried the quarterback once every 9.1 snaps. White averaged a sack every 36.5 snaps, while Anderson recorded a sack every 38.2 snaps.
The Patriots got a top 3 talent in the 2023 draft but at pick 46. That's not a steal; that's grand larceny.
I also compared White to last year's number one overall pick, Travon Walker, and there was no comparison. In Walker's final season in college, he recorded 20 hurries and five sacks on 381 pass snaps.
White is big and long. He is essentially Chandler Jones with an extra 40 pounds of muscle slapped on his frame.
He uses his strength and length to instantly get into the offensive backfield but tends to over-pursue. He couldn't be in a better situation as a rookie edge rusher and will be a starter every game by mid-season.
2023 Prediction: 43 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 18 hurries, and winner of the Defensive Rookie of the Year.