NFL Analysis
10/29/24
3 min read
Nicholas Singleton 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Penn State Nittany Lions RB
Height: 6010 (unofficial)
Weight: 226 (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: David Johnson
Scouting Overview
Singleton is an explosive multi-purpose back who appears to offer all the skills you’re looking for in a complete running back. His explosive athletic profile has helped him net big plays for the Nittany Lions, particularly as a freshman in 2022 and again as a junior in 2024.
Singleton hasn’t been overly consistent, but the raw talent is obvious. He has been a part of a running back platoon for each of his three seasons in Happy Valley, keeping his overall miles low and affording an NFL team a chance to cash in on his playmaking ability while having some optimism that he could have a longer than average shelf life if he’s afforded good health.
A skilled runner and pass catcher with a nose for the end zone, Singleton looks like a feature back for the pros.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Elite, elite explosiveness and home run hitting ability
- Dynamic base and foot speed allow for all kinds of angles throughout his lower half, producing bouncy cuts and change of direction ability with speed
- A very impactful player in the ancillary elements of the position — both as a blocker and pass catcher
Negatives
- Consistency in production and effectiveness has been lacking across his last two seasons relative to his potential
- Lacks the proven resume of volume needed to justify a draft investment in line with his talent level
- Ball security is a point of emphasis moving forward. He posted three lost fumbles during freshman season in 2022
Background
Singleton was raised in Shillington, PA, and played high school football for the Governor Mifflin HS program. He developed a sterling reputation there, was awarded a 5-star recruit ranking (247 Sports), and was largely considered one of the top prep players in the country.
He won Gatorade’s National Football Player of the Year during his senior season. Across his high school career, Singleton posted in excess of 6,000 rushing yards and 114 touchdowns for Mifflin. Teams like Alabama, USC, Michigan, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Florida State headlined bidders for Singleton’s commitment in addition to Penn State.
Singleton quickly found an impact for the Nittany Lions, becoming a hyperproductive freshman with multiple impacts on the game. Singleton returned kickoffs for his first two seasons and averaged more than 24 yards per return across those two seasons. He logged more than 1,000 yards rushing on 156 carries as a freshman — averaging nearly 7.0 yards per carry en route to being named the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Singleton expanded his passing game impact amid a rushing regression as a sophomore.
Tale Of The Tape
Singleton has got all the makings of a featured NFL running back. He mixes speed with power seamlessly but does so with the grace and agility needed to make sudden redirections and hard cuts to force missed tackle challenges.
There’s additional growth in his game, which adds an exciting extra layer to just how blatantly talented he is as a runner. Singleton has been a bit feast or famine, but his ability to contribute on passing downs should keep him a meaningful player even if he isn’t seeing the field much as a ball carrier.
Singleton offers the needed physicality to challenge tacklers in the hole or in the open field and serve up his fair share of missed tackles. He has the initial acceleration to pull out of an angular pursuit angle, the strength to run through soft challenges, and the lateral bounce ability to quickly dart out of a head-up challenge against a fitting defender.
But getting into space feels like where Singleton is still growing and evolving as a runner. He can, at times, be guilty of trying to let the point of attack play out for a crease to develop, leading to some minimal gains or being boxed in behind the line of scrimmage.
On other occasions, Singleton tries to work his way to the perimeter and scorns a solid “on schedule” run in favor of hoping to catch and ride the wave for a bigger gain. Too often, those reps slashing to the perimeter see him barely caught up by a pursuit angle. I would love to see him embrace putting defenders in the pressure cooker by getting vertical on them and attacking them head-up more often.
He has the movement skills, explosiveness, and power needed to be devastating in this capacity but can be guilty of passing those chances up in search of space. Being more consistent and more decisive in his runs inside should yield more regular results and less minimal gains.
In the passing game, Singleton can more than makeup for some of the frustrating inconsistencies he can illustrate as a runner. He’s physical in protection and, on a number of occasions in 2024, delivered powerful teach-tape blows to pass rushers. He’s grown significantly in this area and now shows good eyes, good punch, and a strong center of gravity.
He does well to step up and protect the integrity of the pocket when sorting through his responsibility — although he did have one rough rep against USC where he was late to process which rusher to take and which his guard would pick up, which led to a fourth down pressure.
Singleton has soft hands, good acceleration to maximize targets in the flat, and the ability to get vertical out of the backfield to win down the field. He scored on a seam route out of the backfield against Bowling Green (2024) and made a good ball adjustment downfield while showcasing vision for a long catch and run score vs. Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl (2023).
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Singleton appears to have a scheme-transcendent skill set. He has the size to play and win between the tackles and the explosiveness and foot speed to play in outside run schemes.
The question for Singleton is how much of a workload split will have him carry early or if he’ll platoon like he did at Penn State. I think he can do either.
Grade: 78.50/100.00, Second Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
