Noah Whittington RB Oregon |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #6 ROLE: Work-Horse Back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 02/22/2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.41 seconds (91%*) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #6 | |
| ROLE: Work-Horse Back | |
| Last Updated: 02/22/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.41 seconds (91%*) | |
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SHARE THIS PROFILE:
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| Overall Rating: | 80.0 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Defense player has faced | ||
| Defense Rating: |
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80% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| Rushing: |
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85% |
| Break Tackles: |
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71% |
| Receiving/Hands: |
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54% |
| Pass Blocking: |
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69% |
| Run Blocking: |
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57% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
7th
Overall Rank:
#232
Position rank:
#13 (RB)
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| College Games: 62 College Snaps: 1531 | ||
ESPN RATING: 73/100
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247 RATING: 78/100
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RIVALS RATING: 5.4 (89%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kimani Vidal - Troy |
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92% |
| Frank Gore Jr. - Southern Miss |
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81% |
| Michael Carter - North Carolina |
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74% |
Draft Profile: Bio
Noah Whittington grew up in Fort Valley, Georgia, where he put together a standout prep career at Peach County High School, finishing with 1,554 rushing yards, 30 touchdowns, and 8.0 yards per carry. He was also a capable pass catcher out of the backfield with 60 receptions for 776 yards and seven scores. Despite that production, the recruiting services weren't exactly beating down his door. ESPN gave him three stars and a 73 rating, while 247Sports and Rivals both pegged him as a two-star prospect. He signed with Western Kentucky in the 2020 class and wasted no time getting on the field, appearing in all 12 games as a true freshman, though his role was largely limited to special teams and spot duty (16 carries, 39 yards).Things changed quickly in his sophomore year at WKU. Whittington took over as the Hilltoppers' lead back, rushing for 617 yards on 101 carries with two touchdowns across 12 games and seven starts. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry, good for third in Conference USA, and ripped off 18 runs of 10-plus yards, including an 86-yard touchdown in the Boca Raton Bowl against Appalachian State where he piled up 150 yards on just seven carries. That performance, combined with his steady production, earned him a transfer ticket to Oregon, where he landed ahead of the 2022 season. His first year in Eugene was his most complete. Playing in all 13 games with one start, he finished second on the team with 779 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 139 carries, adding 22 receptions for 169 yards and another score. He recorded a strong 79.9 overall grade from PFF that year with an 82.7 rushing mark.
Whittington's 2023 junior campaign was cut short after just four games due to injury, though in limited action he looked sharp (148 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, plus 10 catches for 78 yards). He took a redshirt and returned in 2024, playing all 14 games and producing 540 rushing yards with six touchdowns and 24 receptions for 136 yards. His signature play that year came against Boise State, when he housed a 100-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter to help spark Oregon's comeback, tying for the second-longest return in program history. In 2025, as a sixth-year senior, he put together his best statistical season: 829 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 129 carries (6.4 YPC) with 19 receptions for 98 yards. He earned an 83.6 overall offensive grade and an 88.5 rushing grade from PFF, both career highs. Over his full career, Whittington accumulated 2,986 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on 527 carries with 88 receptions for 508 yards.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Runs with excellent pad level and leverage, using his compact frame to duck under contact and churn through arm tackles at the second level.
- Vision between the tackles is above average; he reads blocks well, lets lanes develop, and trusts his offensive line before committing to a hole.
- Ball security is outstanding across his career, fumbling only three times on 527 carries, and his 2025 film showed zero fumbles on 129 attempts.
- Quick lateral cut ability allows him to sidestep traffic at the line of scrimmage; his jump-cut is sudden and keeps defenders off balance in tight quarters.
- Tough, physical runner who falls forward consistently and converts marginal gains into positive yardage through sheer effort and lower-body drive.
- Former high school wide receiver background shows up in his route running out of the backfield, particularly on option routes where his footwork freezes linebackers.
- Experienced kick returner who has shown big-play ability on special teams, including that electric 100-yard return against Boise State in 2024.
- Improved significantly year over year at Oregon, with his best rushing performance coming in his final season despite sharing a backfield and facing Big Ten competition.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Undersized at 5'8" and 203 pounds, which puts him in the bottom tier of the position physically and limits his utility in short-yardage and goal-line packages.
- Despite testing well in the forty, his on-field acceleration and top-end burst rarely match that number; he wins with craft, not explosiveness, and breakaway runs are scarce.
- Pass protection technique is raw and inconsistent; he tends to lunge forward and bend at the waist, giving up leverage to oncoming rushers instead of sitting into contact.
- Receiving production flatlined over his Oregon career, with declining yards per route run and a concerning number of drops and double-catches on routine targets.
- Turns 25 before training camp, which is a significant red flag for a running back trying to earn a roster spot at a position where teams covet youth and upside.
Scouting Report: Summary
Whittington is a tough evaluation because the good stuff on film is real, but you can only stretch it so far when projecting to the next level. When he's running downhill behind his pads, pressing the line of scrimmage with patience, and then hitting a quick cut to daylight, he looks like a competent NFL back. His best work comes in zone-scheme concepts where he can read the blocking, stay patient, and use that low center of gravity to slide through creases. In gap runs, he showed similar comfort, and the fact that he split his college carries fairly evenly between the two says something about his versatility as a runner. The fumble rate is genuinely impressive, and that kind of reliability matters when you are fighting for a backup role.The concerns, though, are hard to ignore. His receiving numbers tell a story of a back who plateaued in the passing game rather than developed, and his yards per route run hovered below 0.80 for most of his Oregon tenure. That is not going to cut it for a back who needs third-down value to justify a roster spot. The pass protection issues compound that problem. He has the willingness and the effort, but his technique puts him in bad positions, and NFL edge rushers will eat him alive if he keeps lunging. And then there is the age. A 25-year-old running back with no special athletic gifts beyond a solid forty time is swimming upstream in a league that drafts backs younger every year.
Whittington's ceiling is a reliable RB3 or RB4 who can spell the starter on early downs, contribute on kick returns, and carry the ball 8-10 times a game without killing a drive. That is a real role, and there are backs with long NFL careers who filled it well. But the path to a 53-man roster is narrow. He will need to show up at the combine and prove that the timed speed translates, impress in interviews with the kind of leadership and maturity that six years of college ball should provide, and convince a coaching staff that his special teams value and ball security make him worth carrying over a younger, more explosive option. In a deep running back class, he is a late-round dart throw with a defined floor but a limited ceiling.
Noah Whittington percentiles vs other Running Backs (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Noah Whittington (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
289.0
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
30.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.