FAB 3. White Poised For A Breakout Year In 2020

PewterReport.com drew some laughs on January 18, 2019 when we became the first media outlet to forecast LSU inside linebacker Devin White to Tampa Bay with the fifth overall pick in the initial PewterReport.com 2019 Bucs’ 6-Round Mock Draft. We raised some eyebrows when we doubled down and had White as the Bucs’ pick again at No. 5 on Febraury 1, 2019 when our second edition came out.

LSU ILB Devin White – Photo by: Getty Images

By the time our final Bucs mock draft came out on April 20, 2019, a lot of other media outlets had followed our lead and gotten onboard with the idea of Tampa Bay drafting a strong, fast, athletic, playmaking off-the-ball linebacker with the No. 5 pick because White blazed a 4.42 at the NFL Scouting Combine.

It took a while for White to get comfortable with not only playing at the NFL level, but to recover from a Week 2 knee injury that caused him to miss three and half games, which stunted his growth.

“After the knee injury – which, it took him a while playing in that brace and he’s never played in a brace [before],” Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said. “But to watch him the last six weeks, we got what we were looking for. We got a great player and someone that should be in the Pro Bowl for years to come.”

Over the last six weeks of his rookie season, White showed the playmaking ability that made him the Butkus Award winner at LSU as the nation’s best linebacker. Over that span he recorded 37 tackles, three tackles for loss, recovered four fumbles, returning two for touchdowns, had two sacks, a forced fumble and an interception in helping Tampa Bay finish the season 4-2 down the stretch.

White recorded a pair of sacks and eight tackles in a win at Atlanta. The next week at Jacksonville, White had seven tackles, his first career interception and scored his first touchdown on a fumble recovery set up by a Shaquil Barrett sack-fumble. White would recover a fumble in each of the last three games of the season, and returned one 91 yards for a touchdown in the season-ending loss to Atlanta.

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I see a little Lavonte David in him to be honest with you,” said Bucs defensive tackle Nunez-Roches. “I don’t know what’s in the water that they drink in the linebacker room but the way they communicate and bounce off each other is special. In critical times those two know we need the ball.

“It’s not just about making the tackle with those guys – it’s getting the ball. They see the bigger picture. It’s not just about getting the tackle – it’s about getting the ball. It’s not just about getting the ball – it’s getting the touchdown. I see it with 45 (White) … he reminds me so much of 54 (David). It’s awesome for him to come in for as great of an athlete as he is and as awesome of a player as he is, and have an elite guy like Lavonte to learn from. It’s going to take Devin’s game to a whole new level.”

The ball-hawking ability White showed at the end of the season didn’t come as a surprise to him.

“I feel like that was a good thing, I feel like that was one of the things that I knew was one of my biggest attributes, to always be around the ball,” White said. “Then last year it was always get the ball to the end zone and if you can’t get it to the end zone, get it as close as you can. I’m just proud that I was able to create some turnovers or help get a turnover for the offense and I feel like I can do that so much more this year and I feel like that’s a big part of my game.”

White finished his 13-game rookie season with 91 tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, four fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, two defensive touchdowns and one interception. After a year of starting under his belt, White seems poised for a breakout season in 2020 because he wasn’t satisfied with his production as a rookie. His first year in the NFL didn’t live up to White’s own expectations.

Bucs LB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Truthfully it didn’t,” White said. “I feel like I left a lot of plays out there and I feel like, the games that I missed, I could have made even more plays. I think it took my comfortability away but I ended up gaining it back and ended up finishing the season strong. That was one of the things that my coach and I talked about, how strong I finished. From a leadership standpoint, I feel like I was a great leader for this team, but I feel like there is so much more that I could do.”

The Bucs offense led the league in passing and was one of the most prolific scoring teams last season, and should only be better with six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady under the center, alongside Pro Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski. But White is only focused on the defensive side of the ball, which is his domain.

“I mean, I feel like I can win a Super Bowl with any quarterback,” White said at the end of last year. “Because at the end of the day I play defense and I feel like defense wins championships. So that’s my whole mindset.”

While a breakout season might be in order for White in 2020, his development has been hindered this offseason due to the cancellation of OTAs and the team’s mini-camp because of the COVID-19 pandemic. White and his Bucs teammates have lost 1,000 reps of practice in May and June – not to mention the learning that comes from being around legendary leaders like Jason Pierre-Paul, David and Brady in the meeting rooms and on the practice field.

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Getty Images

“This COVID pandemic with us losing the OTAs didn’t help Devin,” Nunez-Roches said. “It would have been another offseason for him to pad his learning and get the communicating part down and seeing the field in a different light. This missed time will stunt his growth a bit as he’s missing out on his second year of development. But he’s so good that if he keeps going on this path, he’ll be the next linebacker after Lavonte to have his jersey number retired.”

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