Keion White Leads The Way For Georgia Tech In Final Prospect Rankings From Todd McShay and Mel Kiper

White could be the first Yellow Jacket taken in the first round since 2010

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Apr 26, 2023 5:26 PM EDT

In this story:

The wait is almost over for a handful of former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The 2023 NFL Draft is set to kickoff tomorrow night and by the end of the day on Saturday, guys like Keion White, Charlie Thomas, Ace Eley, E.J. Jenkins, Malachi Carter, and Hassan Hall are going to know where the first stop in their pro careers is going to be.

In the last two days, two of the drafts top experts have released their final prospect rankings. ESPN's Todd McShay released his top 350 prospects and positional rankings, while Mel Kiper Jr gave his top 150 as well as positional rankings.

As far as Georgia Tech goes, there is a clear-cut favorite among the Yellow Jackets prospects among the two and that is defensive lineman Keion White.

Georgia Tech defensive end Keion White vs Pittsburgh — Will Keion White be a first-round pick on Thursday?
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

White played in all 12 games for Georgia Tech last season and led the team with 7.5 sacks and was named third-team All-ACC.

He has been a steady riser through this pre-draft process and it is possible he is the first Yellow Jacket picked in the first round since 2010 (Demaryius Thomas and Derrick Morgan).

McShay has him ranked as the 45th best player in the draft and the 5th best defensive end and here is what he had to say about White heading into the draft:

"White has the power to stack offensive tackles and overwhelm tight ends. He locates the ball, gets off blocks in time to make plays and is an effective tackler. He is still scratching the surface in terms of his ability to get to the quarterback. White relies on power too much, but he has a high ceiling. He also is a matchup problem when he kicks inside to rush the passer."

In McShay's rankings, you have to go down a little ways to find the next Georgia Tech player.

Charlie Thomas checks in as the No. 300 overall player and No. 22 outside linebacker. Thomas had a fantastic season that resulted in him earning second-team All-ACC from the AP. He finished the 2022 season with over 100 tackles, had two sacks, two pass deflections, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He was a constant playmaker for the Yellow Jackets and he is not going to be easy to replace.

No other Yellow Jacket made the top 350 for McShay.

He did rank Hall as the 46th-best running back in the draft, Malachi Carter as the 68th-best wide receiver, and Jenkins as the 29th-best tight end.

Kiper is a higher on White as a prospect than McShay, ranking him as the 31st-best player in the draft and the 4th-best defensive end. He does not have another Yellow Jacket ranked in his top 150 prospects.

Kiper did list Carter among the "best of the rest" of the wide receivers, Thomas as his 31st-ranked outside linebacker, and Eley among the "best of the rest" outside linebackers.

Based on these rankings, White will come off the board in the first two rounds, with the others likely heading to be undrafted free agents.

The 2023 NFL Draft kicks off tomorrow night in Kansas City.

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