PHILADELPHIA – The only thing more unlikely than the Eagles drafting Texas running back Bijan Robinson at No. 10 overall is the organization trading for off-ball linebacker Devin White, a former second-team All-Pro who once had a Nick Foles-like defensive run through the postseason en route to Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl LV rout of Kansas City.
White was so good in that postseason that it often overshadowed his poor play in the regular season.
Since arriving to the Bucs as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft, White’s Pro Football Focus grades have been an abject disaster: grading out as No. 68 of 90 as a rookie, 62 of 83 in his second season, No. 79 of 86 in Year 3, and finally No. 74 of 81 last season. He never even became the best LB on the Tampa defense, a spot reserved for productive veteran Lavonte David.
Despite failing to live up to expectations, the Bucs are willing to pay White at his fifth-year option rare at $11.7 million in 2023 but he reportedly wants an extension that would make him one of the highest-paid LBs in football.
Because of his athleticism and upside, the Eagles would surely swing at White in the same lottery-ticket fashion they have with players like Rashaad Penny, Greedy Williams, and Terrell Edmunds. In other words, on a very low-risk, high-reward deal.
Consider that the Eagles weren’t willing to pay T.J. Edwards, a player they should take pride in after uncovering him as an undrafted free agent and developing him into the sixth-best off-ball LB in the NFL last season, according to PFF.
Williams, a teammate of White’s at LSU, excited fans by posting about his friend joining him in Philadelphia on social media, and White responded, “Let’s make it happen.”
Don’t expect Howie Roseman to join in with that sentiment with White still a big-money proposition due to his pedigree.
