How does cornerback Tre’Davious White fit into a struggling Ravens defense?
The NFL trade deadline passed last week and with it came the Ravens trading for Tre’Davious White, who was acquired for a seventh-round pick swap. After being traded last Tuesday, there wasn’t time to integrate him by Thursday for the Baltimore Ravens’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals. But with a spare few days off before Week 11, he should have plenty of time to pick up enough to take snaps. What could the Ravens do with Tre’Davious White?
Not the clearest video (did it on my phone while I was out) and no highlight to identify Tre White.
These are the pass plays the Rams defense faced over the first 4 games.
White is #27. He’s mostly at RCB but played on the left side some too.
I think there’s some context here… pic.twitter.com/FNq4ETChcY
— MC (@abukari) November 6, 2024
White’s history is extensive. He was second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2017. In 2019, White was a Pro Bowler, First Team All-Pro and came fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He was then a Second Team All-Pro the following season. Then, the injuries began.
White tore his ACL in 2021 and came back the last couple of weeks in 2022, earning a poor PFF grade of 58.9. He played in 2023 for the first four weeks, improving to a 68 PFF grade until he tore his Achilles in October.
The Buffalo Bills then released him and he signed with the Los Angeles Rams, playing the first four weeks of this season. He was then a healthy scratch until the Rams traded him to the Ravens.
Yes, you read that correctly. White tore his Achilles in October of 2023 then started in September of 2024 at cornerback, one of the most demanding positions as far as explosiveness and footwork. You can see it in the film above. He does a good job being technical and isn’t out of position too often in the film. More than anything, we see White sometimes chasing after guys in man, clearly missing some of his athleticism and explosiveness.
This season, he’s been targeted 13 times on 133 coverage snaps, giving up nine catches for 151 yards and four touchdowns. Simply enough, that’s not good. Very similar to Brandon Stephens, White is often in position, especially during zone plays.
The lack of athleticism from injuries seems to hinder White at times, failing him when he tries to keep up with receivers on double moves, in-breakers or crossers. There are also reps where White is so technically clean that it doesn’t matter. The fundamentals are still there.
How can the Ravens best utilize White? The most integral and needed part is depth. The Ravens saw Jalyn Armour-Davis take extensive snaps against the Cleveland Browns with Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins down. It didn’t go well and White may offer an upgrade once he’s fully integrated. White’s biggest impact early will likely be felt as a dime defender in certain packages.
The other aspect is competition. Brandon Stephens had a near Pro Bowl-level season last year but has struggled to make plays this season. While his coverage has been tight, receivers continue to make plays over him and it’s becoming a cause of concern. Bringing in White may cause Stephens to step up his game. They could also end up in a rotation.
Humphrey and Wiggins have often rotated on the outside opposite Stephens. This has both kept the older Humphrey fresh while allowing the rookie Wiggins to ease in this season. If White integrates well and shows something, he and Stephens could rotate on the right side while Humphrey and Wiggins rotate on the left. This would effectively fill two outside corner spots with four bodies taking snaps, keeping everyone fresh and allowing the Ravens to pick matchups. It would also allow Humphrey to fill in the slot when needed as he’s been doing with more depth behind him.
The addition of White was a low-risk move. It’s very likely his role here is nothing more than extra depth and he’ll likely play less than 30% of defensive snaps here, especially early on. A majority of his snaps would come from limited dime packages and as injury insurance. But as he puts more and more time between the present and his injury, his athleticism could return and improve, bringing back the dynamic corner of the past.