Chiefs cornerback D.J. White has answers to the passes thrown his way

The great advantage for the offense is it knows where the ball is going, and the defense is forced to react.

But when Chiefs cornerback D.J. White is on the field and a quarterback looks to pass, he also has a good idea about the ball’s direction.

“Any time I’m in the game I know they’re coming my way,” White said. “A rookie corner? You know where the ball is going. I know it, I expect it.”

So it was Sunday against the Saints and Drew Brees, whose first pass attempt was a quick slant to Michael Thomas. In this matchups of rookies, White got his left hand on the ball for the breakup.

He turned and shared an impassioned moment with safety Eric Berry.

“You get a play like that and it definitely fires you up,” White said.

Brees kept throwing White’s way and battles were won and lost. But the Chiefs’ 27-21 victory proved to be the most productive day of the season for White, a sixth-round pick from Georgia Tech.

The trial-by-fire process has begun, hastened by the knee injury to Phillip Gaines. In the previous week’s victory over Oakland, White logged 37 snaps as Gaines left the game in the second quarter.

It didn’t take long for the Raiders to figure out Gaines, a third-year pro, wasn’t on the field. Quarterback Derek Carr went to Amari Cooper early and often.

Against the Saints, White was almost a regular with 59 snaps, or 80 percent of the plays.

“It’s a learning experience for me, being out there,” White said. “It’s all about being tight with your technique, tight with your footwork. It’s as simple as that. As much man-to-man as we run, it’s about winning your matchup.”

For the season, White has recorded 11 tackles and has been credited with three passes defended. He also got in on the pickoff carnival against the Jets. His interception in the end zone was Ryan Fitzpatrick’s sixth of the game.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid isn’t sure White is getting targeted solely because of his inexperience. Sunday, for perhaps the first time in his two seasons, the opponent stayed away from Peters. Not a bad plan, considering Peters has 13 interceptions in 22 regular-season games.

“He has to understand that it’s not because he’s a young guy,” Reid said. “It’s because the guy on the opposite side has a gazillion interceptions. Teams are probably leaning away from Peters, which makes them throw toward D.J.’s side.”

Reid said Gaines, who was on the inactive list Sunday, felt better on Monday and suggested that he’s day to day.

Meanwhile, White will continue his growth in a secondary that came up big against the Saints with two game-altering plays: A Brees pass broken up by Eric Berry was returned for a touchdown by Daniel Sorensen, and a fumble caused by Ron Parker and collected by Marcus Peters ended a sure Saints scoring drive.

“I’m still learning,” White said. “That doesn’t stop. And it helps that we’re winning.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2016 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Chiefs cornerback D.J. White has answers to the passes thrown his way."