Keion White

Keion White (born January 20, 1999) is an American professional football defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Old Dominion Monarchs and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Keion White

White in 2023
No. 56 – San Francisco 49ers
Position	Defensive end
Roster status	Active
Personal information
Born	(1999-01-20) January 20, 1999 (age 26) Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight	290 lb (132 kg)
Career information
High school	Garner Magnet (Garner, North Carolina)
College	Old Dominion (2017–2020) Georgia Tech (2021–2022)
NFL draft	2023: 2nd round, 46th overall pick
Career history
New England Patriots (2023–2025) San Francisco 49ers (2025–present)
Awards and highlights
Second-team All-Conference USA (2019) Third-team All-ACC (2022)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2025
Total tackles 88 Sacks 6.0 Forced fumbles 2 Pass deflections 8 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

White grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and attended Garner Magnet High School, where he was a starter at tight end and defensive end on the football team. White was named first team All-Greater Neuse River Conference as a senior after catching 20 catches for 243 yards and four touchdowns.^[1] He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Old Dominion over offers from Elon, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T, and Virginia State.^[2]

College career

White began his college career playing for the Old Dominion Monarchs, where he initially played tight end.

After redshirting his true freshman season, White started eight games and caught 11 passes for 124 yards as a redshirt freshman.

White moved to defensive end entering his redshirt sophomore season.^[3] In his first season on defense, White made 62 tackles with 3.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss and was named Second-team All-Conference USA.

White opted out of his redshirt junior season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually entered the NCAA transfer portal.^[4]

White ultimately transferred to Georgia Tech.^[5] He broke his ankle playing in a pick-up basketball game prior to his transfer and missed the first eight games of the 2021 season.^[6] White played in the final four games of the Yellow Jackets' season and recorded four tackles.^[7] He used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to Georgia Tech for the 2022 season.^[8]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 4+7⁄8 in (1.95 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	34 in (0.86 m)	10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m)	4.79 s	1.69 s	2.75 s	34.0 in (0.86 m)	9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)	30 reps
Sources:[9][10]

New England Patriots

White was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round (46th overall) in the 2023 NFL draft.^{[11][12][13][14]} As a rookie, he finished with a sack, 26 total tackles (12 solo) and three pass deflections in 16 games and four starts.

In the 2024 season, White helped the Patriots to a Week 1 victory on the road in Cincinnati Bengals with 2.5 sacks on quarterback Joe Burrow.^[15] Along with White's 2.5 sacks, he had four total tackles, two tackles for a loss, and three quarterback hits.

San Francisco 49ers

On October 29, 2025, White and a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick were traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick.^[16]