The Next Big Thing in LA: Jordan Whittington Poised to Become Rams’ Top Pass-Catching Threat on…
Despite having all the skills, Jordan Whittington has never gotten the love he deserves from the NFL Draft community. During last year’s NFL Draft, the Texas Longhorns had three top pass catchers available to be selected and all three should have been selected by the end of the third round.
While scouts were drooling over Xavier Worthy and AD Mitchell, it was Jordan Whittington who possessed the best fundamentals out of the Longhorn’s three-headed monster and while both Worthy and Mitchell got the flowers they deserved, Whittington kept falling in the draft.
Now that we’re almost a year removed from Whittington’s sixth-round selection by the Rams, much has shifted within the Rams organization, providing Whittington an opportunity to become a full-time starter.
A PFWA All-Rookie selection as a returner, Whittington flashed his abilities early in preseason, solidifying his place on the 53-man roster long before the season began. He would be targeted throughout the first five games of the season due to injuries suffered by Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp.
However, his opportunities fell off once they returned. Now with Kupp expecting to be traded, Tutu Atwell unlikely to be re-signed in free agency, and Demarcus Robinson’s future up in the air, Whittington will be competing for the Rams WR2 job come summer.
While it is expected that the team will bring in another pass catcher if not several to compete for the job opening. While Whittington has shown the route running, physicality, and hands to succeed at the NFL level.
With no Kupp on the field, the defensive emphasis will be placed on Nacua, providing advantageous matchups for Whittington, especially in the short passing game. Whittington can block but he loves to run through a defender’s face. Especially defensive backs as the modern corner does not have the same tackling prowess as in years past.
Thus Sean McVay may use him in his patented WR screen game or run him underneath the line of scrimmage into the flat on play action consistently next season.
During the 2024 season, Whittington caught 78 percent of the targets thrown his way for 293 years. He’s one to watch out for come 2025.
