Durkin's Prospect Watch: WR Kevin White
By Dan Durkin--
(CBS) The NFL has become a three-receiver league for a variety of reasons. Rule changes favor offenses down the field and incentivize teams to throw the ball, and the athletes at the receiver position are simply bigger, faster and stronger. Offenses have spread out and changed the geometry of the game. Defenses frequently play in sub packages, which in many cases forces smaller athletes to make plays and tackles in the open field.
Today we take a look at a receiver prospect with the highest upside of any in the 2015 class: West Virginia's Kevin White.
WR Kevin White (6-foot-3, 215 pounds, 21, West Virginia)
40-yard dash: 4.35
Vertical: 36 1/2"
Bench: 23
Arm: 31 1/2"
Bio: White arrived in Morgantown as a junior college transfer from Lackawanna College. His grades coming out of high school disqualified him for a Division I scholarship.
White chose West Virginia over Texas Tech, which was closer to home and afforded him an opportunity to work within Dana Holgorsen's pass-happy playbook. In 2013, he started nine games, finishing with 35 receptions, 507 yards and five touchdowns. In 2014, he burst onto the scene with 109 receptions, 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning him first-team All-American honors. He was also a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff award.
In total, White made 18 starts at West Virginia and averaged a touchdown every 10 receptions.
Pro outlook: White has the appearance of a potential centerpiece of an offense's passing attack. With long speed to take the top off of a defense, he could evolve into a coverage-dictating receiver who commands safety help.
White's ability to threaten the deep passing zones sets him up to operate in the intermediate area on comebacks, curls and digs. He's a natural hands catcher who willingly operates in traffic and fights for position to high point the ball. He plays with an edge, and his violent open-field running style was used to pick up yardage on high-percentage drive routes over the middle. He can easily beat jams at the line by either using his hands or avoiding them altogether with his feet.
White put on a show at the NFL Scouting Combine, which sent his draft stock soaring. However, given his freakish athleticism, scouts will question why he didn't produce during both of his seasons at West Virginia. He has very fluid feet but will need to refine his route running to set cornerbacks up going into and coming out of his breaks.
Draft projection: Given his size-to-speed ratio, White has the most upside of any receiver in this class and should be a top-10 selection.
Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @djdurkin.
