FOXBORO — Patriots defensive end Keion White delivered in his NFL preseason debut Thursday night.

When asked after the 2023 NFL Draft what White would bring to the Patriots as a second-round pick, one source told the Herald, “pain.” The rookie was inflicting plenty of it on Texans offensive players Thursday night with a QB hit, three tackles and a pseudo-forced fumble. White wasn’t credited with forcing a fumble, but he did prevent running back Dare Ogunbowale from recovering a muffed pitch midway through the second quarter by spearing the Texans ball carrier. He also drilled Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud in the ribs on his first-quarter QB hit.

What was perhaps most impressive about White was his agility as a stand-up edge rusher at 6-foot-5, 290 pounds. It’s rare to see a player of White’s size playing in a two-point stance, but the Georgia Tech product made it look easy. It helps that he has elite athleticism. He scored a 9.91 out of 10 with is relative athletic score, which can “can easily and intuitively gauge a player’s athletic abilities relative to the position they play.” White ran a 4.79-second 40-yard dash this spring.

His goal in the Patriots’ second preseason game against the Packers next week is simple.

“Just being able to play faster,” White said Thursday night. “There were a lot of times where I was just trying to dissect a little too much. I just needed to play fast, put my hand down and go.”

Backup quarterback Bailey Zappe said Thursday night he’s been experimenting more with sidearm throws: “Yeah, you got to keep up with the new trends around the league, I guess. Yeah, that’s something I worked on in the offseason, with QB Country, the people I train with. Just being able to throw around guys, instead of trying to throw it over, try to prevent knockdowns or incomplete balls. Just being able to move in the pocket.” … Ex-Patriots defensive end Chase Winovich was happy to register a sack Thursday night against his old team as a member of the Texans. He called it a feather in his cap. “(It) really meant a lot to me.” … Tight end Dalton Keene, another ex-Patriot who’s now a member of the Texans, called his former organization, “a tough place to play.” … The Patriots worked out two offensive linemen, Chim Okorafor and Trevor Reid, on Friday.