Bill Belichick Drops Major Praise for Patriots Rising Defender

Former New England Patriots' legendary head coach Bill Belichick dropped major praise for a star defender.

Jan 1, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick watches from the sideline as they take on the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots appear to have themselves a new star pass-rusher.

After trading away Matthew Judon ahead of the season, there were concerns about how the pass-rush would fare. Keion White made it look very good during the team's huge Week 1 upset win.

White ended up recording 2.5 sacks against Joe Burrow. He has clearly staked a claim on being the team's pass-rushing answer.

Ahead of Week 2 action, former Patriots' legendary head coach Bill Belichick spoke out with some major praise for White.

“First of all, I love Keion White. He can play outside. He can play inside. He’s tough, strong, can really play the run, play the pass. He just needs a little bit more experience and technique. You saw what he did in Week 1.”

At just 25 years old, White appears to be a rising superstar for New England. He looks the part of a player that could put the defense on his back and become the unquestioned leader. That is something that the Patriots desperately needed to find.

Looking ahead to the future, the team has a long path towards being a yearly Super Bowl contender once again. They will need leaders to step up on both sides of the football.

Obviously, they're hoping that Drake Maye ends up becoming that player on offense. White could very well be the guy that they need on the defensive side of the field.

Getting praise from Belichick is not an easy thing to do. Players have to play well and play the right way in order to get that praise. Clearly, he's doing everything right in the book of arguably the greatest head coach of all-time.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see how Week 2 goes for White. He'll need to follow up his impressive peformance last week and put a lot of pressure on Trevor Lawrence.

Expect to see him rise to the occasion and have yet another highly disruptive game.

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