Can UDFA WR Tim White actually make the 53-man roster?

Spectacular catches, ankle breaking jukes and flips. All of these have appeared on the highlight reel for Ravens undrafted free agent wide receiver Tim White. White isn’t the biggest guy on the field, standing at just 5’10”, but he is already making a huge impact on Ravens training camp. The highlight reel for White seems to take another addition every day, and camp kicked off just nine days ago. The following are three of White’s best moments in training camp, but these are far from the only ones.

The Ravens have a history of taking undrafted free agents on the final roster, could Tim White be that player this year?

At Arizona State, White had 1,346 receiving yards over the 2015 and 2016 seasons. In addition, during that same span, White had 1,681 kick return yards, averaging 24.4 yards per return, and 308 punt return yards, averaging 11.4 yards per return. During his ASU career, White had both a kick return and punt return touchdown (all stats via Sports Reference).

White has played as both a receiver and returner during training camp so far, just as he did at ASU. White has made the impressive catches that we have seen highlights of, proving his worth at wide receiver. In addition to plays shown above, White had a 40 yard TD catch yesterday, and has all in all often found himself in the end zone during training camp.

White hasn’t been as exciting on special teams, having one really low moment earlier this week.

White has an uphill battle to make the roster, as the Ravens have two other very similar players on the team already: Michael Campanaro and Griff Whalen. The initial depth chart that came out yesterday and, while not something to live and die by, it certainly did not help White’s chances.

Again, it’s early, but White finds himself way behind on the depth chart. Campanaro, Whalen and Keenan Reynolds, all shifty slot receivers who can return kicks and punts, are all ahead of White on receiver depth chart. The depth chart for special teams only makes matters worse for White.

White doesn’t appear at all on the returner depth chart. His poor showing earlier this week may have largely hurt his chances as a returner.

The depth charts clearly show that White has work to do in order to make the final roster. However, it’s still very early. If White continues to make big plays as a receiver, and if he starts to have an impact as a returner, White could begin to move up the depth chart, and make wide receiver cuts very difficult for the coaching staff.