Two wide receivers were taken off the board within the first seven picks of the 2015 NFL Draft. One of them was not Amari Cooper, who figures to have an up and down fantasy season.
What should fantasy football owners expect from Kevin White, who will start opposite Alshon Jeffery on the Chicago Bears?
"It's a quandary: Do you get excited about White's wonderful raw gifts and Velcro hands, or do you worry that he was a one-year wonder at West Virginia, where the offense is spread and receivers don't face tons of press coverage?" ESPN Fantasy Insider Christopher Harris wrote. "I'll admit there's risk in relying on Jay Cutler to provide for a rookie's breakout, but I'm taking the plunge. White is so big and fast, he immediately becomes one of the few men in the NFL who can make Alshon Jeffery look like a possession receiver. Certainly Jeffery is the better fantasy bet entering his fourth season, but right now I'll say White belongs among the top-25 fantasy receivers."
Harris is right to point out White's unique blend of size and speed. He stands 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds and runs a sub 4.5-40 yard dash. That's a tantalizing combination of impressive physical attributes. But White is still a very raw prospect who only had one season of big-time production at WVU.
Still, the precedent set by other wide receivers under Cutler recently is pretty good. Since Cutler came to the Bears in 2009, either Brandon Marshall or Alshon Jeffery have finished in the top 15 in fantasy points among wide receivers six times. They both finished in the top 10 in 2013.
White should see plenty of snaps with Marshall now in New York and while there is a definite risk of a slow transition, I'd be okay taking a flier on him in the later rounds.