In a rare honor for a former Georgia Tech player, defensive end Keion White will attend the NFL draft in Kansas City, Missouri. It’s another signal that the edge rusher has a strong chance to be selected in the first round of the draft, which begins April 27.
The NFL announced the 17 draft prospects who will attend Thursday evening. White will be the first former Yellow Jacket to be on site for the draft since wide receiver Stephen Hill in 2012. Last year, of the 21 players who attended the draft, 17 were selected in the first round.
ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper rates White as the No. 3 defensive end prospect. Kiper’s ESPN colleague projected White to go to the Seahawks with the 37th overall pick. Another draft analyst, Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network, has White at No. 28 (one spot ahead of former Tech running back Jahmyr Gibbs).
At Tech’s Pro Day, White said it didn’t matter to him where he got drafted given how unlikely it is that he has reached this point in his football career. As a high school senior in Garner, North Carolina, White was prepared to go into the military before receiving his sole FBS scholarship offer – from Old Dominion – late in the recruiting cycle.
Initially a tight end, he switched to defensive end after his redshirt freshman season, which is when his career took off and ultimately led him to Tech. Last season, his 54 tackles – 14 for loss – caught the full attention of NFL scouts and earned him an invitation to the Senior Bowl.
“For me, I feel like at this point, I’m playing with house money,” White said after Tech’s Pro Day. “First round, second round, third round, I don’t care. Just to have the opportunity because I was so close to not playing college football is big for me. So wherever I get drafted, I’m not going to be one of those guys who’s disappointed because I fell or because I didn’t get drafted where everybody else thought I was.”
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