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Keion White is under pressure from a former first-round pick ahead of New England Patriots training camp.

The New England Patriots have been waiting patiently for Keion White to break out as a truly dominant defensive end, but he could be overshadowed by a former first-round pick at the team’s training camp.

That’s the note of caution from Chad Graff of The Athletic. Graff examined White’s chances of bouncing back from an uneven 2024 campaign and concluded No. 99 will first need to stay ahead of free-agent arrival K’Lavon Chaisson on the depth chart.

It won’t be easy when “Chaisson was impressive this spring and could eat into White’s playing time if White doesn’t have a good camp.”

Chaisson, selected 20th overall in the 2020 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, can build on his own 2024 breakout season of sorts with the Las Vegas Raiders. He’ll be playing on a more talented defensive line in New England, in a scheme geared around relentless pressure up front.

The same system should suit White, but Graff cautioned about the 26-year-old’s “lack of consistency” and “level of engagement.”

Patriots Need Regular Production from Keion White

White has had trouble maintaining a prolific rate of disruption on a weekly basis. Something shown by the disparity between these numbers, per Graff: “In the first eight weeks of last season, White ranked 26th in the league in pressure rate (14.3) among players with more than 100 pass rush snaps, just behind Chris Jones and Khalil Mack. In the final nine weeks of the season, he ranked 93rd (9.9).”

Production this erratic can’t be entirely explained by Mack not liking the scheme he was playing. The former second-round pick hasn’t been shy about taking shots at the previous regime of ex-head coach Jerod Mayo.

White will no longer be able to lament the messages he’s getting from the sideline. Not after Mike Vrabel replaced Mayo and hired Terrell Williams, one of the NFL’s best-in-class among defensive line coaches, to be his defensive coordinator.

Vrabel and Williams want a more attacking D-line playing the pass on the way to the run. They’ve hired a key assistant to make it happen, “a proven pass-rush coach to work with in the form of Mike Smith,” according to Graff.

White has already spoken highly of former Baltimore Ravens edge-rusher Smith, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss: “I have a really good coach helping me. Coach Smith was telling me steps, alignment, things like that I haven’t traditionally heard. So just that next step of having that coach behind me is really big for me.”

Smith’s presence can help White finally live up to his billing as a breakout player, but only if he can keep Chaisson off the field.

K’Lavon Chaisson Staking Claim for Patriots

While White still has a lot to prove, Chaisson already looks like a better scheme fit for the direction the Pats are going in defensively. It’s a direction based on greater use of a front four, although Vrabel still has plans to use the 3-4 in base situations.

Both Chaisson and a potential 2025 NFL draft sleeper are more suited to playing outside linebacker than White. The latter has always looked more comfortable as an interior defensive lineman, having most of his success “terrorizing guards in passing situations,” per Taylor Kyles of Patriots on CLNS Media.

By contrast, Chaisson has the bend and closing speed needed to consistently win off the edge. Those qualities show up in highlights from Kyles.

While plays like these belong in this year’s Patriots defense, Vrabel and his staff won’t want to lose any solidity against the run. White can offer it as a 6-foot-5, 285-pounder, but as with most things, the statistics haven’t matched his athleticism.

As Graff pointed out by citing numbers from Pro Football Focus, “as a rookie, he shined there, ranking 58th among 197 edge rushers in that area, as graded by Pro Football Focus. But last season, he dropped to 147th among 211 edge rushers, per PFF.”

Chaisson isn’t the same physical specimen, but the 6-foot-3, 255-pounder can also be stout on the ground. More highlights from Kyles show Chaisson stopping running plays at source.

Thriving in both phases can make Chaisson a sneaky bargain addition, but White will still be given every chance to dominate. The difference this year is the Patriots are better covered by both scheme and depth if he still can’t make the grade.

James Dudko covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world soccer since 2011, with bylines at FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko