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Prospect Preview: Rachaad White

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By: Nate Christian

Prospect Preview: Rachaad White

Position: RB

College: Arizona State

Height: 6’ 0″

Weight: 214lbs

Age: 23

247 Rating: N/A

By: Nate Christian (@NateNFL)

The Rundown:

Rachaad White had an unusual path through college to get from a non-ranked high school player on 247 to NFL Draft hopeful. There was a stop at Mt. San Antonio College (JUCO) for two years before White created a strong enough resume to make the jump to Arizona State. From there he was able to push out some legitimate college talent and take over the Sun Devils’ backfield in year two. An NFL Combine invite later and White has an NFL career on the horizon.

College Production:

After receiving zero FBS offers out of high school, White landed at a local JUCO school in California. After a redshirt year, he posted 1,264 rushing yards (6+ ypc) with 12 total touchdowns. This got him a chance at Arizona State (he had offers from Indiana and Tennessee as well), where after a year with a few chances, he took over the backfield for his senior year. This past season, White gained 1,006 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground, while also catching 43 passes for 456 yards. White showed out this season and despite being a “one-year wonder” has the attention of many scouts across the league.

Strengths:

  • Pass-Catching AbilityOver this past year White showed time and time again that he is a mismatch for linebackers when catching passes out of the backfield. His ability to not only be sure-handed at the catch point but also run legitimate routes at his size make him a weapon that can be used all over the offense. NFL teams loves versatility and White has that.
  • NFL FrameWhen a running back is 6 foot and boasts 210+ pounds on their frame, it checks a lot of boxes for a future NFL workload. Even with this larger frame, White shows off the ability to handle work on all three downs and that gives him a boost against other prospects who may lack the multi-faceted skillset that White brings to the table at his size.
  • Nose for the End ZoneIn 2021, White scored a touchdown in 9 out of the 11 games he played. His size and ability to get skinny between the tackles made him a great goal line and short-yardage back, adding to his already vast skillset. If White can maintain a similar ability in the NFL, there will always be a role for him.

Weaknesses:

  • Tight Hips and Lack of BurstWhile White boasts a lot of ability across the position, he is limited by his athleticism. While he’s certainly not a bad athlete, he can struggle to beat defenders to the corner and win consistently on his cutbacks. He has enough to win at the next level, but don’t expect him to run away from defenders or make too many defenders miss in the open field.
  • Pass ProtectionWhile he is an asset on passing downs, White will have to improve his pass protection if he wants to see those downs early in his rookie season. One area nearly all rookie running backs need to improve in is pass protection, and while White isn’t terrible at it, he does need to be more refined and consistent with his technique. This growth and opportunity could heavily depend on landing spot.

Things to Watch:

White impressed many with a 4.48 official 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine, squashing questions of if his burst was going to keep up with the NFL. I do believe he knew this going into the event and lost some weight and focused on these drills to test well, and that’s great because it shows a great level of work ethic. Maybe more impressive is his 38” vertical, if White can show that type of burst on the NFL field he may blow away many of our expectations.

Projected Round/Contract:  

White is likely an Early Day 3 pick at this point, but with his skillset a team could easily fall in love with what he brings to the table (plus the impressive testing numbers) and grab him in the 3rd round. If we give him a draft slot around the end of the 3rd/early-4th we could see him signing a 4-year deal for around $4 million total. If given a significant role in an offense he could be a huge value at around $1 million a year.

Team Fits:  

White is likely going to enter the league as a backup or the second part of a committee, and there are many teams that go that route in the current NFL. If the Bills wish to continue taking swings on mid-round running backs, White really fits the kind of running back they have targeted in the past. Zack Moss ($1,153,079) has worked his way out of the rotation, but White would give them the same goal line ability they were looking for with Moss, while still giving them plenty of pass-catching upside to back up Devin Singletary ($974,500) as he goes into his contract year.

Another team that has a role open for White could be the Atlanta Falcons. If they choose not to go with the position early, White would be a great complimentary piece to the versatility and explosiveness of Cordarrelle Patterson ($5,250,000). The Falcons are obviously in a rebuilding mode, and it seems like a good time to take a swing on some mid-round players with upside. Rachaad White fits that mold as he could be a true workhorse running back for an NFL team.

Make sure to follow Nate Christian over on Twitter at @NateNFL and check out all the work he is doing with the Dynasty Rewind (@DynastyRewind).

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