Setting the Stage
Roddy White attended James Island High School in South Carolina. He was a four sport letterman there in baseball, soccer, wrestling, and football. He was a two-time state wrestling champion and outstanding wide receiver that broke the state high school receiving records and was listed among the nation’s top receivers coming out of high school.
White attended the University of Alabama-Birmingham. His production increased every season and he caught 71 passes for 1,452 yards and 14 TDs as a senior when he led the Blazers to their one and only bowl game to date. Over his college career, he caught 163 passes for 3,112 yards, averaging 19.1 ypc and he scored 26 TDs.
White was invited to the 2005 NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.45 40-yard dash on a 6-foot 1 frame weighing 207. His speed and college production had many thinking that he would develop an immediate role as a deep pattern specialist. His selection as the 27th overall pick by the Falcons seemed to be a good fit for Michael Vick’s strong arm. Despite being selected in the first round, he was the sixth wide receiver drafted that year, behind Braylon Edwards (3), Troy Williamson (7), Mike Williams (10), Matt Jones (21), and Mark Clayton (22). His success has far exceeded all of the wide receivers drafted ahead of him.
White had a limited impact in the offense in his first two seasons, but he did appear in all 32 games. The team ran more often than they passed and their leading receiver was Alge Crumpler. With Vick and strong running backs, the Falcons rushed for an average of 2,650 rushing yards over those two seasons.
It was in White’s 3rd year that his production greatly improved. Michael Vick was gone and the team used a combination of Joey Harrington, Chris Redman, and Byron Leftwich at quarterback, not exactly the recipe for passing success. Teamed with almost the same receivers as his previous two years, White improved from averages of 30 receptions for 476 yards and 1.5 TDs to become the Falcons’ leading receiver by far, catching 83 passes for 1,202 yards and 6 TDs.
In 2008, Atlanta drafted Matt Ryan and White finished in the top ten wide receivers for the first time of what would turn into five consecutive years. White was the team’s leading receiver in every one of those seasons, except 2012, even though the Falcons added Tony Gonzalez in 2009 and Julio Jones in 2011. Even in 2012, when White was not the team’s leading receiver, he only trailed Gonzalez by one catch and did lead the team in receiving yardage with 1,351 yards.
For his first eight seasons in the NFL, White never missed a game. Then last season, he struggled almost all season long with injuries. He suffered a high ankle sprain in pre-season but played through that, recovering slowly. He finally looked more like himself in week five and was used more often, making 4 catches for the first time all year, but suffered a hamstring injury late. He did not return until week 10 and remained hindered through week 12. Even though his production and impact was disappointing, particularly with fantasy players, he continued to give effort and finally improved his production in week 13. For the rest of the season, he played very well, making 41 of his 63 receptions for 503 yards in the final five games. Projecting those five game to a full season would have given White a career high 131 receptions for 1,600 yards.
His career statistics are provided below.
Year | Games | Rushes | Yards | TDs | Targets | Receptions | Yards | ypr | TDs |
2005 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 68 | 29 | 446 | 15.4 | 3 |
2006 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 30 | 506 | 16.9 | 0 |
2007 | 16 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 137 | 83 | 1,202 | 14.5 | 6 |
2008 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 148 | 88 | 1,382 | 15.7 | 7 |
2009 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 165 | 85 | 1.153 | 13.6 | 11 |
2010 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 177 | 115 | 1,389 | 12.1 | 10 |
2011 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 191 | 100 | 1,296 | 13.0 | 8 |
2012 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 153 | 92 | 1,351 | 14.7 | 7 |
2013 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 63 | 711 | 11.3 | 3 |
Totals | 141 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 1,200 | 685 | 9,436 | 13.8 | 55 |
Looking Forward to 2014
The Falcons drafted RT Jake Matthews (6th overall) and signed RG Jon Asamoah and are hopeful that their offensive line play will be greatly improved over last season’s dismal performance.
Tony Gonzalez, one of the NFL’s greatest all-time tight ends retired after last season. Gonzalez averaged 124 targets, 82 receptions, 837 yards and 7 TDs for his five seasons with the Falcons. Levine Toilolo is expected to attempt to fill the gaping hole at the tight end position, but he will likely not see even half as many targets as Gonzalez had. Expect those targets to be shared among the wide receivers.
Matt Ryan returns for his seventh season as the Falcons’ starting quarterback. He has improved steadily over his career, but took a step back last year, with the poor offensive line play and the wide receiver injuries, in passing yards, ypa, and passing TDs. Expect improvements for Ryan and the Falcons passing game in 2014, led by Julio Jones and Roddy White.
Positives
- White and his quarterback Matt Ryan have excellent chemistry and production history
- The Falcons defense finished tied for 27th in yardage given up last year and may not be improved leading to a need to pass early and often
- White should be determined to overcome last year’s disappointments
Negatives
- His current contract expires after this season and the Falcons have not yet focused on getting him re-signed
- White missed OTAs dealing with the death of his brother
- He did not participate in the team’s three-day minicamp as Coach Smith stated they felt like White needed to get some rest
Projections
Name | Games | Rushes | Yards | TDs | Receptions | Yards | TDs |
Dodds | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 983 | 6 |
Henry | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 1,065 | 7 |
Wood | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 965 | 7 |
Tremblay | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 1,047 | 6 |
Holloway | 16 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 92 | 1,227 | 8 |
Final Thoughts
Roddy White will be motivated to return to the NFL’s top ten most productive wide receivers this year. The team should be forced to pass a lot and their three wide receivers (Jones, White and Harry Douglas) should get the lion’s share of the opportunities. White was among the NFL’s most targeted wide receivers from 2009-2011, but those numbers slipped in 2012 and fell back further due to injuries in 2013. With Gonzalez retired, White should see an increase in targets up near the ten per game range. If he can garner that many targets, he will approach 100 receptions and be a bargain for all who draft him, given his current ADP of WR20.
Other Viewpoints
Anthony Olivetti at www.football.com
While another manager is using their fifth or sixth round pick on Cordarrelle Patterson you’d be smarter to go with the veteran, Roddy White. Prior to last season he was an iron man, never having missed a game in his eight previous seasons. He’s on the wrong side of 30 but he showed down the stretch last season that when healthy he’s still got it.
For most of last season Roddy stubbornly played through injury, mostly because of pride and Julio Jones not being on injured reserve. Once he got right he was back to his old self. During weeks 13 through 17 of last season he averaged 9.2 catches and 100.4 yards per game, that’s 19 points without factoring in touchdowns. Do we have any guarantees that he’ll stay healthy this season? Absolutely zero, but that’s true of any player. Is he worth risking a sixth round pick on? Definitely. Most leagues aren’t won or lost with first, second, or third round pick. Most leagues are won by teams that have calculated risks pay off in other rounds. Round six is the perfect time to take one of those risks.
James Eisenberg at cbssports.com
“When you step on the field, you should feel that you're the best, you and whoever your partner is," Jones said. "I feel like me and Roddy, we're the best when we step on the field. We take it as a challenge every year: We want to go out and show everybody we're the best one-two in the league."" The key for Jones and White is staying on the field. Last season, Jones played in just five games after suffering a season-ending fracture in his right foot while White was hobbled by hamstring and ankle injuries.
"We weren't there to play in the party," White said. "But this year, we're going to be there to play in the party. So at the end of the season, we'll come together, and then we'll see what happens."
Jeff Pasquino in his player comments
Roddy White is a great va;ue pick this year, as he is available as a lower end WR2 in an Atlanta offense that will have to throw, throw and throw some more this year. The Falcons will use three wide receivers often and White is a major part of an offense that was the worst at running the football in 2013. White turns 33 in November, but he has remained healthy and productive for Atlanta and should be a strong WR2 for the next few seasons.