Kevin White Enters Make-Or-Break Year
6 years agoChicago Bears wide receiver Kevin White will enter into the final year of his rookie contract with plenty to prove and his career on the line. The former seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft has been a complete bust to this point in his career due to a litany of injuries.
The injuries began the second he put on a Bears uniform. A left shin injury suffered in the Bears off-season program progressed to a stress fracture that sidelined him for his entire rookie season in 2015. White's return in 2016 quickly fizzled after breaking his left fibula in the fourth game of the season. White came back in 2017 and was in line to become a focal point of the passing game....until he broke his shoulder in Week 1 and finished the season on injured reserve for the third time in three seasons.
White heads into the 2018 season with 21 career receptions, 193 yards and zero touchdowns. White, on paper, certainly has the traits of a number one receiver. His 6'3" frame is blended with 4.35 combine speed and a 36' inch vertical. But White was never tasked in college with running routes that demanded precision and he has struggled with the nuances of the position at the NFL level. When he has been on the field, he has looked tentative at times and that blazing speed at the combine has not transferred when the pads come on.
The Bears this season will give White every opportunity to carve out a role for himself in Chicago's new offense but he is far from a sure thing from a fantasy perspective. The off-season signings of receivers Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton will provide plenty of competition that could push White further down the depth chart. In addition, the drafting of receiver Anthony Miller in the second round further emphasizes the lack of trust the Bears have in White.
The ideal scenario for White in 2018 is simply to stay healthy and perhaps become a down field target for quarterback Mitch Trubisky to throw to. That being said, White should not be drafted in any fantasy format and will need to prove it to the coaching staff, Bears fans and fantasy owners that he belongs in the NFL before he deserves any kind of fantasy consideration.
Source: Chicago Bears
Source: Chicago Bears