Noah Elliss Scouting Report: 2022 NFL Draft Prospect Report
University of Idaho Vandals, DT, #99
Measurements
6’4″/367 lbs.
40 time: 5.1 (estimate)
Noah Elliss NFL Draft Profile
One more Vandal that I think will be playing on Sundays this upcoming year, Noah Elliss. Elliss is a massive defensive tackle who finished up his redshirt junior year.
High School
Elliss Led Valor Christian High School in Littleton, Colorado to back to back state titles as a junior and senior. In his junior and senior years Elliss put up 104 tackles, 27 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. He was a four star prospect according to Rivals, ESPN and Scout. Elliss was ranked as the No. 23 defensive tackle prospect nationally in the 2017 class by 247Sports and the number one defensive tackle from Colorado. Elliss had scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Oregon, Notre Dame, UCLA, USC, Washington and Mississippi State to name a few. He originally signed with Mississippi State, but made his Vandal debut as a redshirt sophomore, playing for his father the Vandals defensive line coach.
Idaho Vandals
Though Elliss is a space eating nose tackle playing the one tech, he still put up numbers of his own. In 21 games for the Vandals, Elliss put up 93 tackles with 10 tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble. Therefore, he is not only good at setting up teammates to make plays, he can make plays himself. Elliss will also be participating in the East-West Shrine Bowl to show what he can do against some of the best college talent in the nation.
Noah Elliss Strengths
Genetics
Man oh man, I love genetics, isn’t that right Joe? Let’s take a quick look at the Elliss’ family tree. Noah’s father Luther isn’t just a defensive line coach, he is a former first round pick who played nine years in the NFL, two of them being Pro Bowl seasons. His brother Kaden was a 7th round pick who is starting for the New Orleans Saints. Noah’s other brother Christian was signed as an UDFA by the Minnesota Vikings after the 2021 NFL Draft and is currently on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad. Finally, his brother with the coolest first name, Jonah Elliss is a linebacker for the Utah Utes and was the number one prospect from the state of Idaho. Noah has strong genetics and he’s a defensive line coach’s son. I love it.
Size
This is kind of a no brainer, he’s 6’4” 367 pounds. Noah Elliss takes up space on the defensive line, often two blocks. This of course allows the linebackers to roam free and make plays in the running game. He has shown that he can make his own plays as well, bringing down running backs for a loss, often with one arm. Elliss is a lot to move off the line and I certainly see him continuing this in the NFL. Even NFL lineman have a tough time pushing around 367 pounds.
Athleticism
You may be thinking that Elliss has value as an immovable object on the defensive line, but he’s surprisingly athletic. His feet are quick. He uses his arms well to disengage from blocks and make a play, either on the quarterback or running back. Elliss also gets low, impressively low for a man as huge as he is. His size and speed combination is scary. I can only imagine what it’s like to see someone his size barrelling down on you much faster than you figured. His get off is impressive, especially considering his gigantic size.
Technique
Elliss is a polished prospect on the defensive line. I assume this is one of the benefits of being a defensive line coach’s son. I’m sure Luther passed along the technique that made him a multiple time pro bowler. It has been noted how odd it is too see a 6’4” 365 pound nose tackle line up in a track stance with his butt high in the air. That is a combination of technique and his unique athleticism at his size. A man his size with good technique is almost unfair.
Noah Elliss Weaknesses
Level of Competition
The Idaho Vandals are an FCS team, playing mostly other FCS teams. I don’t care about school size, but I do have to worry if Elliss got by on being bigger, stronger and better than the vast majority of his competition. A positive for Elliss is that he did total six tackles against Indiana this year, including four solo tackles. We will really see how he does in the Shrine Bowl, but I expect him to do well.
What happened at Mississippi State?
Elliss had scholarship offers from the best teams in college football before committing to Mississippi State. There’s very little mention of his time at Mississippi State, but from what I can find, it seems grades were the reason Elliss didn’t work out for the Bulldogs. The Vandals lucked out in having his brother on the team and father as a defensive line coach, which is why I assume he decided to transfer to Moscow. Whatever his issue with grades was, he got it taken care of at Idaho.
Noah Elliss Draft Stock
There’s not a lot of talk about Noah Elliss, though I did find him in a couple mock drafts as a fourth round pick. It seems this gargantuan human is somehow flying under the radar. Elliss does have the East-West Shrine Bowl coming up and I expect him to improve his draft stock there. He really is that big and quick, NFL scouts are going to fall in love with him when they see that combo in person. Nose tackle is a little underrated in the NFL Draft, but I would project Elliss in the 4th to 5th round right now. With a good Shrine Bowl performance we could legitimately see him as a day 2 pick in rounds 2-3.
Noah Elliss NFL Comparison
I’m going old school, but I’d compare him to Pat Williams. Williams was a beast of a run stuffing defensive tackle who had surprising athleticism. I’ve been wanting the Vikings to draft the next Pat Williams for years now, so whoever the new Vikings GM ends up being please take a look.
