What in the world has happened to Kevin White?

What has happened to Chicago Bears wide receiver Kevin White? The former top draft pick has seemingly lost his mojo after two injury-plagued seasons…

The 2015 NFL Draft has to seem like a long, long time ago for Chicago Bears wide receiver Kevin White.

Two injury-plagued seasons and only four NFL games later, the lack of confidence is becoming evident for the former West Virginia superstar.

In a recent post from the Chicago Tribune, Rich Campbell noted something that almost makes the situation sad, in a way:

"“Confidence is a factor, and to that end, receivers coach Zach Azzanni on Monday morning showed White some of his West Virginia highlights, just to remind him of the elite collegiate player he was and how he attacked catches with a competitive edge.”Rich Campbell – Chicago Tribune"

By many accounts, White is off to a pretty decent start to training camp this year with the Bears. But you expect more than that from a former top draft pick entering his third season in the league.

Back when White was in college, I was thinking we had a little combination of Julio Jones and Larry Fitzgerald on our hands. White had blazing speed, YAC potential, and an amazing ability to attack the football in the air while he was a Mountaineer.

We don’t have a large sample size or anything, but since coming to the Bears, we haven’t really seen that version of Kevin White.

This version:

Against Alabama, that is a big time play from a big time receiver. It was that type of ability that got White picked in the top 10 of the draft, and it’s exactly that ability that has everyone in Chicago on edge, wondering if he’ll regain that form.

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Bears wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni called White a ‘work in progress’ which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.

Still only 25 years old, it’s not like time is running out on White. The Bears may be growing a bit impatient with him, and they have every right to.

But this Chicago coaching staff also hasn’t given up on White, either. They invested heavily in him as a former first round draft pick, so they’re going to do all they can to extract the talent out of him they know he has.

If things don’t start clicking this season, however, it stands to reason we won’t see White in Chicago much longer.