The San Francisco 49ers swung a trade to address their crumbling edge room with a deal for Keion White. While the 26-year-old defensive end shouldn't put an end to the urgency to improve the pass rush, there's a way in which it can pay huge dividends, and it all starts with Robert Saleh's history.
When Saleh took over the New York Jets, he inherited a player who would have been easy to overlook. A former fourth-round pick of the St. Louis Rams, John Franklin-Myers preceded Saleh in New York by a year after being plucked off the scrap heap in 2020. A 3-4 defensive end, Franklin-Myers had been used as a two-gapping run-stuffer, making him appear to be an odd fit for Saleh.
Instead, he became one of the Jets' most valuable defensive linemen, earning a sizeable four-year, $55 million extension early on in their working relationship.
The similarities between Franklin-Myers and Keion White are striking.
Former Robert Saleh pupil John Franklin-Myers is a best-case scenario comp for new 49ers defensive end Keion White
Keion White stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 285 pounds, which is remarkably similar to Franklin-Myers' 6-foot-4, 288-pound frame. Like Franklin-Myers at the time of Saleh's arrival in New York, White is accustomed to playing in a hybrid-style 3-4 defense as opposed to Saleh's conventional four-man rush.
That might make him seem like a poor fit, but in reality, it should give the Niners the formula needed to awaken their pass rush.
What Saleh showed with the Jets was that in the absence of a dominant do-it-all star on the edge, a specialized role was needed to unlock the pass-rush puzzle. At that time, it was Franklin-Myers.
Setting a strong edge in the run game, Franklin-Myers was a bull-rush specialist, playing off a speed rusher on the other side. His responsibility was to either collapse the pocket so the speedier rusher on the other edge could feast, or clean up, should the speed rusher flush the quarterback his way.
That wasn't all. The secret sauce was the ability to kick Franklin-Myers inside on obvious passing downs. While some might have seen a tweener without a true position, Saleh saw a versatile threat who was bigger than tackles were accustomed to handling, while being quicker than what guards typically go up against.
The result was a six-sack season for Franklin-Myers in 2021. He'd continue to have success throughout his time in New York and then set a career-high with seven sacks last season. So far during the 2025 campaign, Franklin-Myers has four sacks for the Denver Broncos, who lead the NFL in sacks by a wide margin.
Under Saleh's tutelage, White can have the same kind of impact. He's longer than Franklin-Myers, has more explosion, and a higher pedigree as a former second-round pick. Putting him in that inside-out, power-end role could unlock him the same way it unlocked Franklin-Myers.
More is still needed, but it shouldn't shock you if Saleh can turn White into a versatile weapon that will make the trade look like a real steal.