Devin White Named NFC's Defensive Player of the Month
Speed. Power. Strength. Balance. Agility.
As far as the physical skills required to play the inside linebacker position in the NFL go, Devin White has them all.
Every single one.
Those physical traits, combined with his impressive production on the field at LSU, his aggressive mentality, and his contagious enthusiasm for the sport of football, gave Bucs' GM, Jason Licht the confidence to select White with the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
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Using such a high pick on an inside linebacker isn't exactly common in the NFL these days. Nor is it something Jason Licht had ever done before.
But that's how talented Devin White is.
And over the course of his first three seasons in the league, we've seen many outrageous displays of that talent. It wasn't until his third season in the league (2021), where we saw White stumble a little bit. Well, we saw him stumble a lot -- specifically in pass coverage.
Coming into this season, a lot of questions were raised regarding White's discipline.
Is he too aggressive? Does he have the mental processing required to cover NFL pass catchers? Can he play under control?
And although we're only three games into this 2022 campaign, what we've learned so far is that not only can White do those things, but he is doing them.
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And it appears as though the rest of the league has taken notice.
Despite a number of elite defensive players around the league showing out early this season, it was Devin White who was awarded the NFC's Defensive Player of the Month honor, following his spectacular performance throughout the month of September.
A news release provided by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers highlighted some of the statistics that support Devin White's status as a dominant defensive player -- at least early on this season.
"White kicked off the 2022 season with a 2.0-sack performance vs. the Dallas Cowboys, recording the fifth multi-sack performance of his NFL career. He is one of just two off-ball linebackers with at least five multi-sack games since entering the league in 2019. He followed that up with an 11-tackle performance in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints, adding another sack and a forced fumble."
"White was one of just two inside linebackers with 3.0-or-more sacks in the month of September, and he tied for third in the NFC overall in sacks. He is also one of just three NFC players with 3.0-plus sacks and a forced fumble through Week 3."
In addition to his production rushing the passer, White has also looked much more comfortable dropping into coverage, which has been a major factor in the Buccaneers' defense firing on all cylinders through three weeks.
It's early, of course. But if White is able to sustain this high level of play, I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a frontrunner for the NFL's DPOY award come season's end. And more importantly, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bucs continue to dominate their opponents -- on the defensive side of the field.
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