Omarion Hampton combined elite college production and an explosive athletic profile to become a rare first-round running back pick in this year’s draft. At first glance, landing with the Chargers in Greg Roman’s run-heavy offense is a dream come true. However, veteran competition and questionable receiving volume leave Hampton’s overall ceiling up in the air.
There is little doubt that Hampton has the talent to become one of the top RBs in the NFL. The question remains whether the Chargers’ coaching staff will maximize his potential by using him as a three-down workhorse.
Omarion Hampton’s NFL Comps
Hampton came to North Carolina as a four-star recruit and the 11th-ranked RB in the 2022 high school class. Following a freshman season when he put up solid production in a supporting role, Hampton exploded over the next two years, never falling below 1,500 rushing yards, 15 rushing touchdowns, or an 83% backfield dominator rating.
Hampton’s role as a receiver also grew with each successive season in Chapel Hill, culminating in a 2024 season when he earned 13.0% of the Tar Heels’ receiving yards on an 11.3% target share.
At 6 feet tall and 221 pounds, Hampton is a load to bring down. Given his size, it is not surprising that he excels at gaining yards after contact, evidenced by his impressive averages of 4.2 yards after contact in 2023 and 3.6 yards in 2024. Hampton was also adept at making something out of nothing, turning in low stuff rates of 11.5% in 2023 and 15.3% in 2024 despite being hit at the line on 43.1% and 42.7% of his runs in each respective year. More than just a power runner, Hampton was able to break plenty of big plays in 2024, evidenced by his 13.9% rushing boom rate, which fell slightly behind Bhayshul Tuten and just ahead of Jarquez Hunter.
After putting up a disappointing 18.6% evasion rate (13.0% broken tackle rate, 5.5% forced missed tackle rate) in 2023, Hampton significantly improved to a robust 26.3% EVAS% as a junior, with a well-balanced 14.2% BT% and 12.1% FMT%. Hampton’s ball security also improved over the course of his career, only recording three fumbles on 601 touches over the past two seasons following a freshman season when he put the ball on the ground three times on only 94 touches.
Hampton has also been reliable as a receiver, recording a 94.9% on-target catch percentage or higher in each of the past two seasons. His receiver rating (reRTG) of 116.2 in 2024 only trailed Cam Skattebo among the 2024 RB class and came in third behind Ashton Jeanty’s 149.4 reRTG from 2023 over the past two years. Hampton’s numbers were also strong on a per-route basis, as his 0.076 points earned per route last season trailed only Damien Martinez, R.J.Harvey, Jaydon Blue, and Skattebo in the class.
Hampton was already getting first-round buzz before the combine. After the show he put on in Indianapolis, Day 1 draft capital was all but certain.
The Chargers were one of the favorites to select Hampton in the first round of the draft, and they proceeded to do so with the 22nd pick. After landing in Los Angeles, Hampton came in second only to Jeanty in the RB Prospect Lab while pulling in an exciting list of comps in the Box Score Scout.
