2025 NFL Draft: Mel Kiper Jr, Field Yates fiercely debate Omarion Hampton to the Cowboys in latest mock

The 2025 NFL Draft is a little less than a month away, and ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. released an updated mock on Tuesday. In it, he had the Dallas Cowboys selecting North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton with the No. 12 overall pick.

Kiper made an appearance on ESPN2 later that day, where he explained his thought process on that prediction. Running back is certainly an area of need after releasing Ezekiel Elliott and losing Rico Dowdle in free agency. That in mind, Kiper thinks Hampton can be a replacement both in the immediate and long term.

“They went with Ezekiel Elliott, they went with Emmitt Smith back in the day — why not go with Omarion Hampton?” he said. “He can run it hard inside, he can bounce it outside, he can catch the ball and block. He will help out Dak Prescott and help that offense be balanced as a whole.

“…This is the only position in football where you can be as good as a rookie as you’ll ever be in your National Football League career. So Omarion Hampton could be a Rookie of the Year candidate along with (Ashton) Jeanty, because those running backs can come in and, if they can block, they usually get on the field and can be great.”

The Cowboys ranked 27th in the NFL this past season with just over 100 yards rushing per game. They finished 7-10 to miss the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Hampton could be what they need to fix those numbers. He put up back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Tar Heels, including rushing for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns this past season.

Running back is certainly a position they’ll need to address that, but Field Yates countered Kiper’s pick by questioning whether there aren’t more important needs on the roster. With offensive lineman Zack Martin retiring and defensive lineman DeMarcus Lawrence leaving in free agency, those are also positions of great importance for Dallas.

“This a bit of an inflated spot, as far as my rankings are concerned, for Omarion Hampton,” he said. “I think I have him 27th right now. I like the player a lot, (but) the Cowboys would be mismanaging assets right here and right now if they did this. The Cowboys have so many needs that they must account for for a team that, by the way, they don’t want to rebuild. They want to win next year. They’ve got to find more wide receivers. They’ve got to find some help along the offensive line.

“The great Zack Martin just retired. They’ve got to fill some vacancies on the defensive side of the ball. Tank Lawrence is now a Seattle Seahawk. They’ve got voids they’ve gotta fill all over the roster, including running back. There’s too much depth in this class for the Cowboys not to prioritize harder positions to find than that running back spot at No. 12.”

Both Kiper and Yates made some solid points in their argument, and we’ll have to wait and see which direction Dallas is leaning come draft day. The 2025 NFL Draft is set to begin on April 24 with the first round.