Houston Texans running back Jawhar Jordan has faced a winding road of sorts since being drafted in the sixth round out of Louisville in 2024.
The 5-foot-10, 193-pound New York native was immediately placed on the practice squad in his rookie season, and he mostly remained there until week 15 of this past campaign. In it, the Texans were facing off against the Arizona Cardinals and were in need of reinforcements after veteran rusher Nick Chubb was declared out due to a rib injury suffered against the Kansas City Chiefs the game prior. What really opened the door for Jordan against Arizona was the fact that an ankle injury knocked then-rookie rusher Woody Marks out of the contest. Thus, the spotlight was firmly on Jordan to take advantage of the moment.
Jordan made the most of his golden opportunity, rumbling against the Cardinals to the tune of 15 carries for 101 yards (6.7 average). He became the first running back to individually record a 100-yard rushing performance on the season, and he'd even end the year as such. Afterward, Houston signed Jordan full-time to the active roster, thus crowning him with the long awaited designation as an authentic contributor to the Texans franchise. He didn't replicate the impact of his outstanding debut against the Las Vegas Raiders in the following week, but he didn't necessarily have to. Jordan had finally arrived.
Heading into what will unofficially be year three for the former First-Team All ACC player, it looked like Jordan would have a clear enough pathway to comfortably slot into the RB3 role behind David Montgomery and Woody Marks.
Unfortunately, after Houston signed another diminutive dynamo to aid in the overhauling of their backfield efforts in 2026, Jordan may be in for a bigger fight than what he thought. For, undrafted former Oregon Duck Noah Whittington has now entered the fray as a potential challenger for the already limited reps left over for options like Jordan and himself.
Jawhar Jordan and Noah Whittington will do battle as RB3 is up for grabs
Rookie minicamp (May 7th-9th) will be the first time the Texans' fan base will be able to lay eyes on the newly acquired Whittington on an NFL field. The former All-Big Ten Honorable mention player stands at 5-foot-8 and 205 pounds, while possessing a 4.41 40-yard dash time.
Whittington's physical traits are slightly an edge over Jordan, but he's behind when it comes to understanding the speed of the professional product like his teammate already does. At the time of writing, the two are just too similar in skillset and stature to pick a discernible standout option ahead of actual camp reps. The biggest difference right now would be Whittington fits the more physical archetype, while Jordan brings vision and processing.
In a collegiate sense, on paper, Whittington would be the better 'statistical back' coming out of their respective draft classes. However, he's also played on more year of college football than Jordan, which would skew the numbers a bit in his favor.
Collegiate stats could provide a closer look for Jordan and Whittington
Whittington finished his six year run with 523 carries for 2,950 yards and 21 touchdowns, while Jordan completed five years with 381 carries for 2,214 yards and 18 touchdowns. In the receiving game, Whittington had 90 catches for 544 yards and four touchdowns, while Jordan had 39 catches for 476 yards and one touchdown. Again, with more time in college, of course Whittington would enter the NFL with a better statsheet than Jordan.
Ultimately, none of that matters. Both players will be starting from scratch as the new league year kicks into gear, and both should be hungry to demonstrate why they're the best player for the job.
Jordan may have exploded onto the scene last year, but it's time for Houston's sole 100-yard rusher of last year to attempt to hold serve and maintain his grip on RB3. If he falters, Whittington could be there to pick up the pieces and become the next flash-in-the-pan story for Houston.
Add us as a preferred source on Google