White bulks up for receiver battle

Myles White knows how it feels to be on both sides of the Green Bay Packers' roster bubble.

Last season, the former Louisiana Tech standout was cut at the end of training camp, signed to the practice squad and promoted to the 53-man roster, where he spent seven weeks before sustaining a season-ending knee injury.

White didn't require surgery and has been a full participant in the portion of the Packers' offseason program open to the media. Even so, he faces a difficult battle to retain his spot with the addition of three receivers through last month's NFL draft.

So White reassessed and decided the lightest player on the Packers' roster last season needed to bulk up . He ramped up to the carbs and returned in April weighing 192 pounds, 12 pounds more than last year.

White lived off ramen noodles during college. That's fine for a scholarship athlete on a small income, but not really conducive to building muscle.

"I really took a focus on just getting bigger and stronger and just being more efficient running routes," White said. "I accomplished that so far and I'm happy with where I'm at and the progress and everything is at right now. It's been a good OTAs and spring with just being here and being a year in and just understanding the offense. I'm just happy to be here."

The Packers have 10 receivers on their offseason roster. Veteran Jarrett Boykin, White and practice-squad holdover Alex Gillett are the only ones who weren't drafted into the league.

The challenge is holding off the new class of receivers: second-round pick Davante Adams, popular native son Jared Abbrederis and seventh-round pick Jeff Janis, who each brings something different to the table.

White learned a lot from his wild rookie season that saw him thrust from the practice squad to the game-day roster after Randall Cobb sustained a broken tibia in Baltimore on Oct. 13.

He's still listed as the smallest receiver on the roster behind Cobb, but he's already felt a difference from his offseason preparation. His joints and muscles were sore after practice last year, but that hasn't been the case.

White is looking forward to returning next month and battling to maintain his spot.

"That's the name of the game," White said. "This is the NFL so everything is a competition. Everybody is all-world, all-conference, all-American. You just have to pay attention to the little details and it will all work itself out. It is crazy because everyone has a specific skill set they can bring to the team. My job is to keep performing and they'll make the decision upstairs what they want to do. I can't worry about that."

whodkiew@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @WesHod.