Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers knew they couldn’t go another week without adding a defensive lineman of some sort. We didn’t make it until Wednesday before the Niners made a trade. San Francisco is acquiring Keion White from the New England Patriots. The teams will swap picks, with New England getting a sixth-round pick and San Francisco landing a seventh.
White, who is listed anywhere from 6’5″, 285-290 pounds, is signed under contract through 2026. Next season, his base salary is $1.8 million. So, the Niners get an affordable player who turns 27 in January. White was also selected with the 15th pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. You’d think the 49ers were intrigued by that draft pedigree.
Robert Saleh has a specific style that he wants up front. Last season, the 49ers were light at edge rusher opposite Nick Bosa. So what do they do? Use their first-round draft pick on Mykel Williams.
With Bosa no longer in the fold, San Francisco has relied on Sam Okuayinonu. But after that, the drop-off in run defense has been noticeable. And that’s through no fault of the current players on the roster. They were never supposed to be relied on as full-time players.
Insert White. His frame is exactly what Saleh is looking for on early downs on the edge, and on passing downs along the interior.
White seemed to fall out of favor under Mike Vrabel’s defense in New England. You can tell based on the usage. When he has been healthy, White has played as low as 24.5 percent and as much as 63 percent of the snaps. White missed Weeks 2 and 6 with injuries, but was a healthy scratch in Week 8.
Even when he’s played starter snaps, White wasn’t used as an interior rusher. He’s lined up eight times as a defensive tackle this season, which is a stark contrast to 2024 when White became one of four defensive linemen to play at least 15 percent of snaps at each of the four spots along the defensive line.
The Patriots were content to use White on the right side of the defense. He didn’t thrive in that role, as evidenced by three pressures on 60 pass rushes. Perhaps moving around, specifically to the interior, will lead to more production for White.
