He was projected as a starting cornerback from the time he was drafted. But the start that Tre'Davious White has gotten off to has exceeded some of the most optimistic expectations. His performance in his first three games has earned White, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month honors for September.
"I know that I belong in this league," said White. "If I continue to take that approach and continue to practice hard like I do and continue to be a team player and accept the coaching, I'll be fine."
Rookie cornerbacks are frequently targets of opposing quarterbacks, but NFL signal callers are quickly learning that it's going to be difficult to make plays against Tre'Davious White.
White leads the Bills in pass breakups with seven and has done a solid job of limiting yards after catch when completions are made against him.
His performance in last week's win is a perfect example. White was targeted by Denver QB Trevor Siemian 10 times in the game, and though he surrendered five catches, they went for just 85 yards with only nine yards coming after the catch according to Pro Football Focus.
In fact White had a pair of tackles for loss in the game along with a pass breakup and his first career interception. Siemian finished the game with a passer rating of 36.9 when throwing at White according to PFF.
"He didn't back down, he competed like crazy," said head coach Sean McDermott of White's most recent performance. "Tre'Davious, like the rest of the team I thought came out in the second half and really finished strong and really with a winning mindset. For a young corner, this early to do what he's done, is good to see. Still a lot of work to do, but I know he's working extremely hard and I'm happy for him."
The last time a rookie was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month was in 2015 when Ronald Darby won it for the month of November.
