The Facts: White spent all of training camp last year watching from the sideline. That changed on Thursday when White participated in his first training camp practice. Expectations are understandably high for White, whom the Bears took at No. 7 overall out of West Virginia in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Diehards Line:White is expected to start opposite Alshon Jeffery, giving Chicago a potentially productive wide receiver combination, if both players can stay healthy. In addition, White has to click with Jay Cutler. The two struck up a friendship early in the offseason, and according to ESPN.com's Jeff Dickerson, if Thursday’s workout is any indication, Cutler will not hesitate to frequently fire the football in White’s direction. Cutler understands the importance of dual threats at receiver. In 2013, Jeffery and Brandon Marshall terrorized opponents, putting up a combined 189 catches for 2,716 yards and 19 touchdowns. No one assumes White is the second coming of Marshall, but Cutler sees special traits in the young receiver. “I think for anybody taking a year off football, jumping back into it is going to be hard," Cutler explained. "A rookie missing kind of that vital year, where you learn so much that first year jumping into that second year, it’s a big miss for him. But he’s so physically gifted I think he’s going to make it up really, really quickly. ..." We'll be watching for signs that White is doing that over the coming weeks. Stay tuned.