All Access: Pat White QB Or Not QB

As NFL.com senior writer Steve Wyche wrote last week, Pat White drew 25 NFL teams to West Virginia’s pro day workout. White said he would run pass routes and go through receiver drills upon request, but no teams requested. Now it looks like teams were waiting for their own private individual workouts to see White in other capacities. White worked out with the New England Patriots on Wednesday, spending the majority of the workout on wide receiver drills, and worked out with the Denver Broncos on Wednesday, according to league sources.

Mancini's Take: It looks as though, White is finally coming around to running routes. The college quarterback can say all he wants about wanting to play his original position, but, at some point, economics have to enter the equation. White will be drafted higher as a receiver than he will as a signal caller, and therefore stands to make more money that way. The problem with the former Mountaineer as a quarterback has never been his arm, but his lack of size. White is about 6' tall...maybe, and rail thin. Why doesn't he throw on some weight, you ask? Well, that might be counterproductive in that more bulk might compromise his speed. I don't know about about you, great oracle, but I don't want to see a muscle-bound Pat White bouncing around out there like Donovan McNabb. I'd rather see him be a sleek, multi-purpose speedster.

Mandel's Take: I'm with you, Reverend. In my mind, White is going to be Slash 2.0. Remember that scene in Trading Places when people start to notice the Duke brothers are trying to corner the orange juice market? Then all of the other traders pile on, thinking that if the Dukes are investing, there must be something to it? Well, the Patriots are the Duke brothers. They do everything within the law--and sometimes outside the law--to ensure their own success and are envied and loathed by everyone else. If they think Pat White can be a useful player, the rest of the league is going to come around to that line of thinking, and they should. White can be a wildcat/WR at the very least and until he proves he can't play some QB in certain situations, he should be given a shot there too. When his name is announced, it should sound something like this, "The New England Patriots select...Pat White...Football player...West Virginia." I'd take him on my team any day. The game is evolving. Teams that recognize it will corner the orange juice market.

Photo Credit: WVU Sports Communication