Omarion Hampton Leaves Something to be Desired

There’s a lot of first-round hype surrounding North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton, so I thought I’d better turn on the film.

When I say a lot of hype, I mean a lot of hype.

CBS, Draftwire, Pro Football Network, SI, USA Today, Fox Sports, NFL.com, 33rd Team, SBNation, The Athletic, Pro Football Focus, Newsweek, NY Post, Chicago Tribune, NBC Sports, Yahoo, Barstool Sports, and NBC Sports have all mocked him first round just in April (nflmockdrafdatabase.com).

Does he live up to it?

Game film litmus test

Hampton is a hard but limited runner.

What do I mean?

• Not elusive

• Lacks true home run hitting speed

Hampton ran into too many defenders, and he could not avoid them. THERE WERE TOO MANY TIMES HE HIT THAT WALL.

Don’t get me wrong, if there’s a big gaping hole or shoddy tackling, Hampton is all that and a bag of chips. However, when it came to creating as a runner, juking defenders out of their shoes or outrunning them, Hampton IS NOT IT. Hampton is NOT ELUSIVE.

A lot of his runs looked average, to say it nicely. There was a lot of “three yards and a cloud of dust.”

These were the times when he got tackled for a loss, no gain, or a yard or two. There were a lot of other runs when he’d chip away at defenses and take whatever there was to take ⎯three, four, five yards at a time up the middle. He’s a north-south runner, not an east-west runner. Hampton is a physical and erect (runs high), rigid downhill runner with powerful legs that can take advantage of arm tackling attempts.

Did he have his moments when he broke away from the pack?

Sure, if the hole was wide enough, he could accelerate and glide downfield like an oversized paper airplane.

The troubling part was who he was facing. Hampton couldn’t outrun several of the defenses against a softer schedule once he was in the clear.

Watching him run against the University of Minnesota, Charlotte, North Carolina Central, James Madison, Duke, and Pitt, he looked too average. No disrespect intended toward those programs, but this is the NFL. Now we’re talking a different level.

If Hampton looked ho-hum against those teams..

Good luck in the NFL.

Good hands out of the backfield

I liked that Hampton caught most everything thrown in his direction.

Per Rotowire:

• 38 receptions
• 44 targets

Math was my worst class in school (I didn’t apply myself, and I was too busy reading the newspaper’s sports page), but that’s an 86.3% catch rate.

THAT’S GOOD!

However, he couldn’t do much after those grabs regarding yardage after the catch.

NFL crystal ball

Hampton has a good chance of being over-drafted, but he doesn’t look like a true franchise when it comes to the eye test. He just doesn’t have that “something special.”

I think he eventually settles into a No. 2 role, and he becomes that guy who sledehammers defensive fronts and prepares the path for the other guy.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know about his 4.46 Combine 40 speed.

Track speed is one thing. Football speed is another.

#28 Omarion Hampton 6-foot-0, 221 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s 2025 Final NFL Draft Grade: Second-Round (I wouldn’t select him)

Projected by 35.4% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of April 22, 2025 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2024 game film evaluated: Minnesota, Charlotte, North Carolina Central, James Madison, Duke, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Virginia, FSU, Wake Forest, Boston College, and NC State (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report

A prospect with smooth building acceleration who strikes out and hits a lot of singles and doubles. Can get into the second level quickly if he doesn’t face much initial resistance. Speed levels out. Opportunistic. Good natural strength and contact balance. Thick muscular thighs. Runs hard but doesn’t exude energy. Does his job, but comes off apathetic. Average instincts. Average vision. Sometimes becomes too hesitant. A solid safety valve who made himself available to his quarterback.

Final words

Hampton didn’t wow me.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.