The Houston Texans dominated news cycles in the midst of the NFL Draft when they acquired both guard Keylan Rutledge (26th) and defensive tackle Kayden McDonald (36th) in the first two rounds of the draft. However, there’s a sneaky addition that occurred in the early goings of the undrafted free agent pool that could tip the scales even further in the Texans’ direction once the regular season starts.
This came in the form of Oregon running back Noah Whittington, who led the Ducks’ backfield with 829 rushing yards (129 carries) and six touchdowns. His final collegiate season earned him recognition as an All-Big Ten honorable mention, and brought his career rushing yard total to 2,950 yards (13th all-time in Oregon history: 2,294 yards).Â
Fansided NFL Draft Analyst Austen Bundy gave his initial assessment of Whittington’s circumstantial fit in Houston, stating:
Houston has a full running back room on its depth chart but in reality only David Montgomery and Woody Marks are going to see the bulk of snaps. After that, it's open season for the RB3 job that too many folks overlook. Whittington put up 829 rushing yards on 129 carries for Oregon last year, finding the endzone six times. He may have been passed up in the draft for positional value but nabbing him now could end up being a bargain bin steal in the event Montgomery or Marks suffer simultaneous injuries.
Watching some of Whittington’s highlight tape, he may not have to wait for injuries before he becomes a playmaker for Houston’s offense.
Whittington could become a playmaker in Houston’s offense
In the offseason, the Texans revamped their offensive infrastructure with the following moves:
Offensive line:
- Re-signed T Trent Brown
- Re-signed G Ed Ingram
- Signed T Braden Smith
- Signed G Wyatt Teller
- Drafted G/C Keylan Rutledge (28th)
- Drafted G/C Febechi Nwaiwu
Running backs:
- Cut Joe Mixon
- Letting Nick Chubb leave
- Traded for David Montgomery
The team made it a point to completely overhaul the unit, with increased emphasis on running the football consistently and impactfully. This comes after a season in which former starter Joe Mixon was lost for the season (foot injury), along with Houston’s run-game ranking in the bottom 10th of the league in every major statistical category (including being 32nd in run-block win-rate at 68%).
At the time of writing, David Montgomery, Woody Marks, Jawhar Jordan and British Brooks currently occupy the running back room. With Whittington’s addition, Houston has another option to inject into what projects to be a formerly morabund rushing unit. Specifically, a player with ‘homerun’ potential who also also could take reps as a return man.
NFL Draft Analyst Lance Zierlein evaluated Whittington even further and arrived at these analysis points:
- Quick jump-cut with ability to escape sudden foot traffic.
- Runs with good bend and leverage.
- Plays behind his pads and accelerates through contact.
- Rarely bounces it unnecessarily wide or off track.
- Downhill runner, takes care of the football along the interior
- Tough and relatively decisive, knack for falling forward for extra yards though physicality
To be objective, Zierlein also mentioned Whittington’s issues with drops in the receiving-game, and a concern for how his age (25 in December) will factor into his developmental ceiling once he steps on an NFL field. Concerns aside, Whittington projects to be a quality contributor if he’s simply asked to man the RB3 role as a safe, ‘change-of-pace’ option who could also pop the occasional big run if the blocking holes are good enough.
Whittington could solidify RB3 for Texans
Unfortunately for Houston’s current RB3 candidate in Jordan, Whittington might edge him out on physical traits alone. Whittington outweighs Jordan by about 20 pounds, and has a faster 40 time by 0.15 seconds.Â
With Montgomery as the lead back and Marks as the versatile second option, Whittington could slot in as the twitchy, physical third back who can rotate in and electrify an offensive possession at a moment’s notice.
Best case scenario, the Texans will have a healthy stable of backs who can apply constant pressure on a defense for 60 minutes.Â
For Whittington, he truly has the opportunity to turn himself into one of the most underrated weapons from the entire draft.
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