Can Keion White take the next step for the Patriots after a turbulent year?

New York Times

23-06-2025

Editor's note: This is the third story in a 10-part series looking at the most intriguing New England Patriots players ahead of training camp.
Previously: Efton Chism, TreVeyon Henderson
A couple of weeks into last season, Keion White of the Patriots looked like the franchise's new stud pass rusher, ready to take over the role created by the departure of Matthew Judon.
He had, at that time, the second-most sacks in the league, already taking down the quarterback four times, trailing only Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions.
Ja'Lynn Polk reels in his first NFL score while Keion White stays hot up front.@MikeDussault19's key points from yesterday's game: https://t.co/4bc7XEWJzu pic.twitter.com/Icnwf8yuLU
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 16, 2024
But White's falloff was swift and steep. He had only one sack over the final 15 games. His pressure rate plummeted as did, eventually, his playing time. And, it seemed, so did his trust in the coaching staff. White was one of the team's most outspoken players at the end of last season, openly calling for change. 'If changes aren't made, then what are we doing?' he said at the time.
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Now, change has come. Mike Vrabel is in charge. White has a proven pass-rush coach to work with in the form of Mike Smith. His defensive coordinator specializes in D-line play. His head coach came up on the defensive side.
Given all of that, the ante feels upped for White this season. Will he put it all together and show off the promise he's teased since Bill Belichick made him a second-round pick? Or will he play like he did down the stretch last season, opening the door for him to be the latest player from the previous regime to be jettisoned by Vrabel?
Those questions make White one of the Patriots' most intriguing players entering training camp.
White came to the Patriots as Belichick tried to bolster his defense in 2023, landing with New England in the second round, one round after the team landed Christian Gonzalez. He was an older prospect (24 when he was drafted) but quickly made an impact.
Through training camp and the preseason, White was consistently making standout plays with a violence in movement that the Patriots lacked on the edge. But his playing time as a rookie was limited behind Judon and Joshua Uche, and he notched just one sack in 2023.
Expectations were higher last season, particularly after Judon was traded. White had a coach in Jerod Mayo who brought a carryover in defensive style. He got more playing time. And early on, he had success: 2 1/2 sacks in the opener, plus 1 1/2 more in Week 2.
But the drop-off in White's play was drastic.
In the first eight weeks of last season, White ranked 26th in the league in pressure rate (14.3) among players with more than 100 pass rush snaps, just behind Chris Jones and Khalil Mack. In the final nine weeks of the season, he ranked 93rd (9.9).
His playing time fell off, too, and he began to criticise the franchise's direction. He went from playing more than 80 percent of the defensive snaps in each of the first three games to less than 65 percent in the final three games.
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The Patriots made some additions at edge rusher, an indication that White, now 26, isn't guaranteed to be a starter who gets loads of playing time. The message from Vrabel seems to be that White has to earn it.
Vrabel brought in Harold Landry and K'Lavon Chaisson, training camp competition for White. But it has seemed to help White. He spent many spring sessions going over pass-rush moves with Landry before the start of practice and praised the veteran for that time in comments that later went viral.
'Now I feel like I have a coach,' White said when asked how helpful Landry has been.
Keion White on a big difference this season:
'Now, I feel like I have a coach' pic.twitter.com/aKK0iD5Rnl
— Savage (@SavageSports_) June 11, 2025
Even if those comments were made about Landry and not the lack of coaching he got a year ago, they're strong remarks about the franchise looking ahead to this fall.
How much will White improve against the run? As a rookie, he shined there, ranking 58th among 197 edge rushers in that area, as graded by Pro Football Focus. But last season, he dropped to 147th among 211 edge rushers, per PFF.
That kind of drop-off suggests an attitude change. He clearly can stop the run — he just didn't get overly involved in that area a year ago.
Now there are no more excuses. It was somewhat understandable to be frustrated by last season. But there's a new regime in charge. So White needs to show up to camp ready to set the edge, even if that's not as glamorous as getting after the passer, because it's unlikely Vrabel will just let that slide.
The talent with White is obvious. He kept the company of two of the best pass rushers in the league in the first half of last season (Jones and Mack). He was great against the run as a rookie. He has plenty of speed with long arms and tons of strength.
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So the optimistic view is that he was struggling with the coaching he received a year ago and the direction the franchise was headed.
With those issues resolved, White should be headed for the leap we initially saw last season and should become a top-30 edge rusher in the NFL.
Players as good as White can't simply get wiped out of 15 games in a row. It doesn't matter if you're mad at the coaching staff.
So the concern is his lack of consistency. We've all seen the highlights of violent hits and great sacks. He can do that. But it's never consistent enough, and the fear is that simply changing the coach won't fix it.
Two things: The first is White's level of engagement. That might be a small ask in training camp, but it's a big part of his story given the events of the last eight months. Is he hustling on every play, chasing down ball carriers even when the rush goes the other way? Is he staying late to get extra work on his pass-rush moves?
The second is his playing time. Landry is probably a starter on one end, and White is probably a starter on the other. But Chaisson was impressive this spring and could eat into White's playing time if White doesn't have a good camp.