roddy white, a huge sleeper

[Vick 4 Mayor]

here are two articles on him that make it seem like he'll make an impact this year

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sport ... lcons.html

The agent for Falcons first-round draft pick Roddy White said he plans to have the wide receiver signed to a contract before training camp begins July 25.

"There hasn't been much talk yet but I know they want to get it done sooner rather than later and have Roddy in on time," said Neil Schwartz, who represents the 27th overall pick from Alabama-Birmingham. "We're going to work diligently to make that happen. My job for Roddy is to get it done — to try to get it done, at least."

White is listed as the No. 2 split end behind Dez White but after his impressive mini-camp and organized team activities this summer, some coaches said those roles could be reversed before the regular-season opener Sept. 12 against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles.

"The plan is for him to start," Schwartz said.

The Falcons have held preliminary discussions with the agents for all eight of their draft picks and plan to re-open dialogue by the weekend, according to the player representatives.

[Vick 4 Mayor]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/8628019

[quote]PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (July 7, 2005) -- He is one of the most electrifying players on the Atlanta Falcons roster, if not the NFL. His offensive skills are phenomenal. That's why he merits all the praise.

But this isn't Michael Vick we're talking about. This is wide receiver Sharod "Roddy" White, the first-round draft pick that is about to change Atlanta from a running team to a passing team.

Back in 2001, the Falcons drafted Vick No. 1 overall to spark their offense. Then the organization went out and signed Peerless Price and Dez White as free agents, and also drafted receiver Michael Jenkins last year in the first round. All that amounted to 2,412 yards passing and a huge workload for running backs Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett. The Atlanta runners combined for a league-leading 2,672 yards in 2005, including Vick's 902 yards, which is third all time for a quarterback in a single season.

Back up a minute. Does that read right? The Falcons outrushed their own passing offense by over 200 yards? It was time to bring in someone who could shake things up.

"Every day I go into practice and try to get better, and every day I try to bring a new energy to the team," White said. "I try to step my game up every day. It's been working for me so far."

The 27th overall pick this year had been flying up the draft boards ever since his final collegiate game, even though he didn't participate in February's combine. The reason why he started under the radar was because White attended Alabama-Birmingham, a school known more for a men's basketball team that seems to always pull off first-round upsets in the NCAA Tournament than its football team.

But White finally got the shot he needed. Even though he was a two-time first-team All-Conference USA pick and the national leader in receiving yardage as a senior for Division I-A, it was a trip to the Hawaii Bowl at the conclusion of the 2004 season that put him on the map. A nationally televised game for the school's first-ever postseason contest was basically the start of White's NFL career.

White's final stats in the game: six catches for 113 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter in front of an ESPN audience. Thirty-two head coaches with their eyes glued to a TV set just saw an amazing performance. The draft process had just begun for the 6-foot-1, 201-pound native of South Carolina.

"This is amazing for me right now. It's my lifetime dream and I never thought it'd be accomplished, especially going to a school like UAB, where they're not known for having first-round draft picks. This is the spot where I felt I wanted to be at. I think I have the skills to be here; now I just have to fit in with everyone," White said.

White seemed to back up his draft hype. At the team's first minicamp, coaches and teammates were amazed at White's speed, agility and the way he didn't drop any passes. Apparently it didn't take long for White to get adjusted to the pro game. Holding onto a scorching pass from Vick is one thing, but it's another to block for him.

Roddy White shows off his autograph skills to Matt Brunjes at the Rookie Symposium.
Roddy White shows off his autograph skills to Matt Brunjes at the Rookie Symposium.
Like Vick has done so many times in the past and will do in the future, the pocket will collapse or the coverage is too good and he will take off down the field. Many times the fleet-footed signal-caller will even outrun his own downfield blockers. Having a receiver 20 yards down the field with similar abilities allows Vick to shadow White and follow his path to the end zone. And locking up the defender should be second nature for White, as he was a two-time state champion in wrestling during his high school days. "I'm going to be able to block down field," White said confidently. "I'm a physical guy out there. (Vick) is explosive and he can break it at any time, but I think I can keep up. I'm kind of explosive myself."
White was able to show off some of those skills at the Rookie Symposium in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. That's where all 255 players selected in this year's draft went to learn about lessons in life, and not just football. It's a program designed to help the rookies deal with the added pressure of being in the NFL. And even though White is a student of the Falcons' scheme and professional life in general, he became teacher for a day to the many youth football players from the area that attended a showcase by the rookies. And if enough of those kids learned how to play just like White, he may be out of a job in a few years.

Now with consecutive first-round receivers on the roster and a trio of veteran leaders, the Falcons have all the pieces to be the two-dimensional team it always wanted to be. If Atlanta could make it to the NFC Championship Game with the league's third-worst passing offense, imagine what it can do when 300-yard games become as common as Vick's highlight reels.

"I want to catch at least 60 passes this year and help out the offense any way I can," said White. "We want to get everything going on the outside so the inside can get even better. I'm looking forward to getting out there and competing. I want to strap my pads on and show everyone what I can really do."[/quote]

[Vick 4 Mayor]

based on this information and the way the falcons' coaches have been praising roddy white's performance in mini camp (which they did not do last year with jenkins so they don't just say this for every rookie), i'd expect him to be a top 2 or 3 rookie wr this year

[moochman]

Sharod "Roddy" White, Warrick "Mr GoodGuy" Dunn, Michale "Ron Mexico" Vick.
Does everyone on the team have to have an AKA?

Thanks for the update. Rocket Roddy is officially on my watch list.

[VaderFin]

I'm going to put very little stock in any Falcon WR for as long as they have a RB playing QB for them.

[Keyser_WV]

I'm going to put very little stock in any Falcon WR for as long as they have a RB playing QB for them.

Ditto.

I doubt any Falcon WR will sniff 1000 yards.

Vick threw for 2314 and 14 TD's last year for goodness sake.

[Kensat30]

I'm going to put very little stock in any Falcon WR for as long as they have a RB playing QB for them.

Look no further than Alge Crumpler to realize that Vick can turn his pass catching options into viable fantasy players. Peerless Price and Dez White are Chicago Bear's caliber WRs...

[Charlie24]

I'm going to put very little stock in any Falcon WR for as long as they have a RB playing QB for them.

Ditto.

I doubt any Falcon WR will sniff 1000 yards.

Vick threw for 2314 and 14 TD's last year for goodness sake.

Exactly. as long as Vick is around the best Roddy White could be called is a deep, deep sleeper... He says he wants to catch 60 passes and help his O in any way he can but he can't control how many passes Vick decides to throw or keep and run

[VaderFin]

I'm going to put very little stock in any Falcon WR for as long as they have a RB playing QB for them.

Look no further than Alge Crumpler to realize that Vick can turn his pass catching options into viable fantasy players. Peerless Price and Dez White are Chicago Bear's caliber WRs...

Crumpler is a TE and a dump off option most of the time. The Falcon RB can see a dump off guy while running around but can't seem to look downfield very well.

[chaindog35]

Roddy White is a nice deep sleeper, but calling him a sure or even likely top 2-3 rookie wr is a stretch in my opinion. But V4M and i have already discussed this in the other roddy white thread