Ryan Pace: Kevin White could thrive without “hyper focus”

Ryan Pace is not quite ready to give up on Kevin White. Without the spotlight on him, can he thrive?

Every move the Chicago Bears have made has signified moving on from Kevin White. They signed receivers, drafted receivers and declined his fifth-year option. Of course, all of those moves were no-brainers.

They do not signify that Ryan Pace has given up on Kevin White, and Pace has not. Ryan Pace talked to Dan Pompei of the Athletic and talked about why he sees White still having upside.

"With the added weapons, and holdovers Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, Pace said there is not as much “hyperfocus” on White, and he believes White is having a strong offseason.“He’s fast, he will go up and attack the ball,” Pace said. “One thing that’s hard for Kevin, besides the injury, is we’ve been through three receiver coaches. We’ve changed the offense. It’s a transition for any player from a college offense to NFL, but it especially applies to receivers because the route tree is so much more demanding, the terminology increases so much. You can see Kevin getting more and more comfortable with his play, just playing fast instead of thinking so much. Our new receivers coach Mike Furrey is doing a good job, he’s really good.”"

Pace is right about one thing, there is no focus on White. He is the fourth receiver on the depth chart at best and should be fighting to keep his spot in camp. All attention has shifted to Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and Anthony Miller.

There has always been the hint that some of White’s issues are mental. Pace talked about that as well. The changes in receiver coach added onto the injuries. When a player is constantly under the mental stress of rehabbing, and learning a new system, AND has all of the expectations of a top ten pick, it can be overwhelming.

Next: Ripple effect of Allen Robinson

At the very least, there are no expectations now. He should be healthy already as well. Pace says he sees a more comfortable player. If all that means is that the Chicago Bears have a reliable wide receiver four, that is now great news.