The Chicago Bears have a lot of question marks surrounding them as training camp approaches and Kevin White remains one of the biggest. The seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft has suffered back-to-back season-ending leg injuries while catching just 19 balls in that 32 game span. New Bears wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni recently spoke about a meeting he had with White to define expectations for the upcoming season.
“The other day, we met and I said, listen, what do you think you are? Tell me what you think you are. He said, ‘Well coach, I’m a big, physical guy. I’m aggressive with the ball in the air.’ I said, OK, that’s what we have to be. When I press play, we better see a big, physical guy that’s strong with the ball in the air. And some of those things you saw last year.
You saw some flashes. The other thing I liked about him. He made a catch, I can’t remember, we were at home. He made a catch on the sideline and he finally showed some emotion. Some of that dog came out of him a little bit. I don’t know if he’s had that the last two years. He’s shown flashes of it, but if he can play like that, he’ll be pretty hard to stop. But he has to play like that all the time.”
The “big, physical guy” was who Bears fans pictured taking over the NFL when White was originally considered one of the best overall athletes of his draft class just two short years ago. His draft comparison, Amari Cooper who went fourth overall to the Raiders, has already enjoyed two Pro Bowls while White has been sidelined with injury.
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With what appears to be a full rebuild in front of them, Bears fans are wondering what they can expect out of White and I think they got their answer. The one consistent trait with White is confidence, he’s always been confident in his abilities but apparently the new coach feels he lacked a little on-field emotion.
Sporting a cast of mid-to-low level talent at the wide receiver position, the Bears will depend heavily on White to take over the #1 spot. If he doesn’t, and manages to get hurt again, his time in Chicago could be up. You better believe Cameron Meredith, Markus Wheaton and the rest of the crew will be coming for that spot. It is essentially White’s to lose with the departure of Alshon Jeffery to Philly.
All eyes are on you #11. (White recently switched from his “unlucky” #13)
