Omarion Hampton is one of the most unique evaluations I can remember. He has posted consistently elite production in his last two seasons in Chapel Hill, where he was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award both years, which goes to the nation’s top running back. He has had 15 rushing TDs in each of the last two seasons and averaged 5.9 yards per carry each season, as well. However, two years ago he had Drake Maye under center and last year he had…Jacoby Criswell. Maye, as we all know, was drafted 3rd overall by the Patriots last summer and Criswell is in the transfer portal after Bill Belichick came to town and apparently had other plans at QB.
Like Kaleb Johnson and Ollie Gordon on this list, Hampton was his entire offense this past season, and teams still struggled to contain him. Though I’m not an huge fan of his upright posture when running and think it could lead to problems at the next level, he possesses above average ball security AND pass blocking with strong hands. Hampton is a legitimate every-down back with home run speed. His athleticism and skillset were on full display at the NFL Combine, where he was at the top of nearly every positional test and posted an elite Relative Athletic Score of 9.70, which ranked 64 out of 2099 running backs from 1987 to 2025 (courtesy of Kent Lee Platte (@Mathbomb). Some have mocked Hampton to the Bears at 1.10 if Jeanty is taken before that. Most believe there is no way he slides past Dallas at 12 or Denver at 20. Either way, it seems inevitable that this phenom will be one of the few first-round RBs taken in the last few years.
Speaking of the 1.10 draft slot, that is exactly where my comp for Hampton was taken back in the 2015 NFL draft. Todd Gurley did not participate in any of the field work at his combine due to his recovery from a brutal ACL injury at Georgia, but some speculate the decorated former Bulldog would have easily run in the low 4.4s or even high 4.3s. The biggest difference to me, besides their bill of health entering the league, is the conferences they came from. Gurley starred as a true freshman in the SEC and never ran for less than 6.0 yards per carry for the Bulldogs and even had 6 receiving TDs as a true sophomore. Truth be told, it was extremely hard for me to come up with a comp for Omarion Hampton. Corey Dillon, Willis McGahee, and Ottis Anderson were a few other backs that came to mind when I watched the former North Carolina Tarheel on tape, but the lean/muscular build with upright running style, deep speed, and “hops” that Hampton and Gurley share in common ultimately led me to settle here. Gurley had better vision and more wiggle than Hampton, but both could beat you with speed or power. Here are a few clips of each:
Fit for Bears? Yes
Barring a trade, Hampton figures to be long gone by the time the Chicago Bears would be in the market for a RB round 2 or later. Assuming he or Jeanty are not the pick at 1.10, of course. However, Hampton is a weapon that I could see Ben Johnson pounding the table for and would not be surprised if such a trade did happen to land the former Tarheel. At the end of the day, I expect Hampton to become a day 1 starter for another team next season with Chicago opting for a different player.
What about you? Would you like to see him in Chicago? Would you trade up if that’s what it took to land him, or wait for another RB?
Bchuk44’s Top 10 Running Backs
10. Jaydon Blue (Texas)
9. Ollie Gordon II (Oklahoma State)
8. Cam Skattebo (Arizona State)
7. Bhayshul Tuten (Virginia Tech)
6. RJ Harvey (UCF)
5. Kaleb Johnson (Iowa)
4. Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State)
3. Omarion Hampton (North Carolina)