Despite being kept out of the box score, Kevin White was able to ignite the Chicago Bears on the field
With the injury to Anthony Miller, the Chicago Bears knew they were going to have to look for some depth pieces to step up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This meant the potential to see a lot of Kevin White.
White, the former first-round pick has been lost in the shuffle with years of injuries and new coaching staffs. However, now White has been presented a chance to impress that staff and show them that he belongs on an NFL football field.
While White was held out of the box score completely, his performance was worth noting. Something that was not attached to White when he was coming out of West Virginia was his blocking capabilities. However, against Tampa Bay, they were needed and were on display for the Chicago Bears.
On two occasions, White was responsible for helping runs break outside and into the open field. His block on the play linked here was exceptional. As Tarik Cohen was running down the sideline, a Bucs safety came crashing in towards the sideline. That is, of course, until he saw White. White came flying in out of nowhere to take out the defender and clear an easy path down the sidelines to spring the play into open field.
Later on the game, he is helping Cohen get free. You can see the play here. White is about 10-15 yards down the field. However, he has his defender tied up without a chance to make a play on the ball. This run was going to get yards, but Kevin White helped pick up an extra five or ten on the play.
I get it; we should not be getting excited about a former top ten pick having a couple of decent moments as a blocker. However, he is healthy and contributing, which is more than some can say they expected from him.
White is adding value and has fit into his role as a lower player on the depth chart. That was probably a tough pill to swallow, and it is commendable to think that White is buying into doing the little things to help his team win.