Georgia football: Zamir White provides solid mid-round value in NFL draft

Georgia football and head coach Kirby Smart look to continue the trend of putting players in the NFL, with upwards of 15 players projecting as potential selections in the upcoming draft.

Running back, Zamir White is not viewed as one of the top backs in the class but will look to make an impact for a team that selects him somewhere in the middle rounds.

White has been on scouts’ radar since high school, where he was a 5-star recruit, but back-to-back torn ACLs in opposite knees stunted his development from the beginning.

Georgia football running back Zamir White will be a great mid-round draft prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft.

As a redshirt freshman, he took a back seat to star running back D’Andre Swift but was a vital part of the three-headed committee backfield the Dawgs used in 2019. He had a much more featured role as the lead back in 2020 and 2021 but was still one-half of a one-two punch in the latter season with the emergence of James Cook.

White’s burst and agility were clearly impacted by his injuries early in his career as he worked his way back. Still, his progression over his three seasons at Georgia is evident.

White runs for power, but his lateral quickness and explosiveness were much improved in 2021. A solid showing at the NFL combine could help boost his stock with teams that might be on the fence.

Currently projected to be selected in the fourth-to-fifth round range, White is not the prototypical running back archetype that the NFL is evolving to prefer. Pass-catching out of the backfield is a skill that is getting focused on heavily for modern tailbacks. That isn’t to say that White can’t at least be serviceable as a pass catcher — it just is not his strength.

White’s physicality and hard-nosed running style allow him to excel, serving as the bruiser to complement his shiftier counterpart in Cook. This type of role still holds its place in NFL offenses, especially as more and more begin to utilize a committee backfield approach.

An ideal situation for White to find himself in would be one similar to what he had at Georgia. Splitting carries to complement a shifty running back makes the most sense for him to be utilized correctly.

Even though he hasn’t had a significant injury since his last ACL tear in 2018, the lingering questions about his durability will continue until they get answered on the field. If the 2021 NFL season showed anything, running back depth is invaluable, and simply being healthy could lead to a starting role at any given time.

The Miami Dolphins are an ideal fit for White as a team that needs all the running back help it can get. Miami will likely select one of the higher touted tailbacks in the early rounds and could very well double-dip and select White to be his running mate in a later round.

As short-lived as the running back position has seemed to become in the NFL, though, many teams could be looking for the next potential replacement for a declining starter. If White can continue to stay healthy, he can provide solid value for whichever team takes a chance on him.