When the Patriots were in spring camp, head coach Jerod Mayo was asked which player had surprised him during the offseason program.

Mayo paused to ponder the question at first, but then he had a response: "Keion White is doing a good job for us. Keion has taken that step forward as far as being a leader. Not so much vocally, but you see him leading the groups and working well. If you need a name, that is a good one."

Unsurprisingly, the 2023 second-rounder, who always has this quiet intensity about him, is making the year-two leap as a leader by example. White may not say much, but he always has a fierce look on his face of a man on a mission. That mission began for White when he eventually switched positions from tight end to defensive end. He was a late bloomer, spending six years in college between Old Dominion and Georgia Tech. Although it took time to find his footing, White's breakout game came against one of his newest teammates.

Being from the Raleigh area, White had 80 guests in attendance for Georgia Tech's matchup with Drake Maye's North Carolina squad. White tallied three sacks and four tackles for loss, using that game as a springboard to improve his stock for the 2023 NFL Draft. Eventually, the Patriots selected White later than expected with the 46th overall draft selection.

"Keion? Oh, man," Maye told Patriots.com. "Good player, man. Just that motor. That's something you can't teach is his motor. Not only that, he's got speed and he's got power. I remember we were worried about Keion throughout the week, and he showed up big in the game. He was a big factor in that game."

A few months after Mayo singled White out in a positive light, the Patriots dealt star pass-rusher Matthew Judon to the Falcons for a 2025 third-round pick. New England also got unfortunate news to open camp that stud DT Christian Barmore would be out indefinitely due to blood clots.

The Patriots need White to become an impact defender in their front seven now more than ever. Without their two big tickets rushing the passer, the Pats will try to replace Judon and Barmore (for the foreseeable future) by committee. However, they'll need at least one game-wrecker, and the versatile second-year pro is New England's best bet.

"I'm not Judon," White told Patriots.com. "Even when [Judon] and [Barmore] are there, they can't be successful unless we're all doing our thing. If [Judon] beats his man, but the other side of the ball doesn't win, then the quarterback is going to escape on the other side."

"We all have to do our 1/11, and that's how you become a successful defense. Historically, the Patriots have done well because there's nobody that they need to make a star, and if everybody does their job, we can all be successful." White continued.

White's assertion that he's not Judon was rooted in the fact that he has a different playing style. The veteran Pro Bowler won with first-step explosiveness to turn the corner on tackles for sacks. White, on the other hand, admits that rushing from the outside in a two-point stance is an area of his game he's trying to improve. Instead, he believes he's at his best rushing the passer from a three-point stance on the interior while he can still set the edge and win with power on the outside.

Due to his intriguing alignment flexibility, White moves all over the defensive front. His role in the defense could resemble former Patriots standout Trey Flowers, who used to line up as a traditional edge rusher on early downs and kick inside to rush the quarterback in passing situations.

"The closer you get to the ball, the faster things happen. You got to be better with your reaction, better with your hands, and a little bit more physical because you have things like double teams happening. So that definitely changes," said White, explaining the differences between rushing inside compared to outside on the line of scrimmage.

With the self-awareness that he needs to improve as an edge rusher and add more tools to his bag than his foundational power rushes, White spent the summer working on those two things. Mainly, he didn't use any power moves in practice to develop his secondary rush moves.

Despite hardly ever using his go-to move, White was a training camp standout. The Pats defender explained his approach and which secondary rush moves he was working on, saying, "To be honest with you, I haven't used a power move all camp."

"I'm trying to develop other moves outside of power," White continued. "Trying to work on more speed rushing, like double swipes, chop dips, and rips. Working my hands and everything like that better. Just trying to improve that."

While working on his secondary rush moves, White challenged himself to square off against standout guard Mike Onwenu in practice. Onwenu and White often faced each other in one-on-one drills with iron sharpening iron.

"Mike's a really good guard. I challenge myself to go against him every day," White said earlier this summer. "A lot of times, he gets the better of me. But I like that because that makes me better at the end of the day."

Although he spent training camp working to diversify his rush plan, White went back to his roots in his preseason tune-up against the Eagles. The 25-year-old recorded a sack, three hurries, and one run stuff in 21 snaps. After practicing against them earlier in the week, the Patriots picked up on Philly's tendency to use vertical pass sets. Vertical sets are when tackles kick straight back out of their stances, allowing them to get the maximum depth to cut off the corner. They also help linemen pass off stunts more easily.

However, the downside to vertical pass sets is that linemen are susceptible to power rushes. Along with their momentum going backward, it's also challenging for blockers to establish first contact with a good punch. Knowing the Eagles would use vertical sets, White went back to using power.

Now that he has established himself in the NFL, White is turning his attention to making that year-two jump. The 25-year-old tallied 20 quarterback pressures and 19 stops as a rotational player in his first season. The second-year pro believes that, after getting his feet wet as a rookie, he's ready to take his game to the next level.

"Last year, I was focused on doing my job and not messing up," White said. "Now, I kind of have a grasp on the defense and so I can focus on — I already know what my job is, I'm confident in it, and now I can focus on winning and beating my opponent."

"I definitely try to take the game a little bit into my own hands, but also play within the framework of the defense," White added.

To surprise the naysayers, the Patriots need their defense to keep them in games this season. In 2023, the Pats defense held up their end of the bargain, finishing ninth in total DVOA, despite season-ending injuries to Judon and standout rookie CB Christian Gonzalez early in the season.

Heading into the first year under Coach Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington, the defense could take a step back without former head coach Bill Belichick, the greatest defensive mind in NFL history. Plus, the Patriots will likely play the season without Judon (traded) and Barmore (blood clots), two key cogs in the front seven.

Although there's currently no timetable for his return, the Patriots used one of their two designated to return spots on Barmore. In the event that he is medically cleared to play this season, Barmore could return to action, but that seems like a long shot. Without Barmore in the mix, New England still has solid contributors in Davon Godchaux, Deatrich Wise, Daniel Ekuale, Anfernee Jennings, and Joshua Uche. However, it's on White to be the difference-maker in the front seven.

With a good history of using versatile inside-outside rushers, the Patriots hope the 2023 second-round pick is their next man up.

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