Film room: Can Raiders rely on White as starting LB?

Diving into the veteran linebacker’s tape

Linebacker is one of the more interesting positions on the Las Vegas Raiders roster heading into the 2025 season. It’s an open competition at the top of the depth chart where Devin White, who was signed during free agency this offseason, projects to enter training camp as a starter. However, it’s fair to question whether he should be relied on for that role.

White began last season with the Philadelphia Eagles but never played a snap for the eventual Super Bowl Champs, getting beaten out by Zach Baun and Nakobe Dean for the two first-string spots before his release at the beginning of October. Then, the six-year veteran landed with the Houston Texans, playing in just seven games with one start.

On top of that, he struggled on the field. White participated in 176 snaps with the Texans, earning a 58.4 run-defense grade and 62.4 mark in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. What’s even more concerning is that those figures are career highs.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at where the 2019 first-round pick struggled and excelled while playing for the Texans last season.

Part of the reason White had issues in coverage a year ago is that his change-of-direction skills were subpar. That makes him hard to rely on in man coverage, as seen above.

The Tennessee Titans have their two tight ends at the top of the screen switch release, and the linebacker does a good job of passing one tight end off and picking up the other. However, he loses his footing while trying to pivot from left to right, leaving his man wide open for a first down on a simple short drag route.

This might seem like an isolated incident where White just slipped, but he struggled to get in and out of breaks on several occasions. The clip above is just the most egregious.

This time, White is split out wide against a running back on a go route. He tries to get his hands on the back to slow the back down—outside of the five-yard window, mind you—but it doesn’t work as the linebacker gives up separation and gets beat over the top. That sets up for an easy touchdown, had the ball been caught.

So, White gets bailed out on this rep, and it’s another reason to question his ability to play man coverage.

The veteran’s instincts against the run are shaky, which can often lead to him getting stuck in no-man’s land.

The Indianapolis Colts run a triple option in the play above, where the offensive line blocks as if it’s an outside zone run for the running back, while the tight end leaves the defensive end unblocked and works straight up to the second level. On top of that, the wide receiver at the top of the screen motions behind the quarterback and to the other side of the formation.

With the six other defenders in the box taking care of the outside zone run, the tight end’s release and the wide receiver’s motion should tell White to work wide or over the top of the tight end’s block. However, he freezes and then steps inside, putting himself in a bad spot to take on the block and pick up the quarterback, whom he’s responsible for on the option.

Instead, Anthony Richardson goes untouched before pitching the ball for an easy first down.

The other issue with White as a run defender is that he struggles to get off blocks, which could be seen a bit in the previous clip, too.

Here, it’s fourth and one, and he’s going up against a tight end. That’s a matchup the defense needs him to win, especially with the Titans dialing up an outside toss to his side of the formation. However, the linebacker isn’t physical enough at the point of attack to set the edge and can’t get off the block, resulting in him getting widened by the tight end.

Then, when the fullback comes to help, White ends up getting driven backward and put on the ground as the running back easily picks up the first down.

To flip the script, one way the former Texan can be effective in coverage is by rallying and tackling when playing zone.

It’s third and four while Houston is in Cover 2 with White in the hook-to-curl zone. Initially, he has to widen with the receiver motioning across the formation on the flat route. But White does a good job of reading the quarterback’s eyes to help anticipate the pass to the tight end/slot receiver on the curl route.

That allows the linebacker to collapse on the tight end shortly after the ball gets there to make the third-down stop.

Ending on a high note, White can be an effective run defender when he’s on the playside of gap runs. The Titans run power on the goal line here, and he’s quick to read the play and crash downhill. As a result, he can get inside the puller’s block and make the puller miss to get a tackle near the line of scrimmage and keep the offense backed up in its own end.

This is one instance where his instincts are up to snuff and can help him make plays. It’s just a specific set of circumstances that is reliant on the offense’s play call.

Overall, White can add value as an off-ball pass-rusher. He’s recorded 159 career pressures (including playoffs) on 716 snaps as a rusher, per PFF, and has logged 23 sacks during his six regular seasons. However, that’s more of a niche or situational role rather than a starting linebacker trait.

Ideally, one or two of the Raiders’ young backers will step up to take on the first-string duties as White’s struggles in man coverage, instincts against zone runs and ability to get off blocks make him hard to rely on as a starter.