Mel Kiper Jr. sees big potential in NFL for Omarion Hampton

Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates were in agreement that North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton was RB2 for the 2025 NFL Draft. However, they differentiated between how far apart he is from RB1 in this class.

On ‘First Draft’ earlier this week, Yates rated Hampton at No. 26 among the overall prospects in his Top 50. He then, on Wednesday, released a new mock draft that had Hampton going in the first round at No. 20 to the Denver Broncos. That, for reference in comparison to Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, had him 22 spots behind on the big board and 14 spots behind in the mock to Yates.

“Omarion Hampton? He’s a great player. I mean, this guy, back-to-back seasons with 1,500-plus rushing yards. He had 67 catches over the past two years. Ran a 4.46, 219 pounds,” Yates said. “I just can’t get on board with the idea that the gap between him and Ashton Jeanty is that narrow.

“Like, the level of explosion, I think, is different. I know that Ashton Jeanty did not run a 40 during the pre-draft process – probably no need to for him. I think at least plays a lot faster than Omarion Hampton. And just the contact balance? That, to me, is the rarest of traits that Ashton Jeanty has as opposed to Omarion Hampton, who’s a really good player. You’re going to see a bunch of explosive runs from this guy. You’re going to see breakaway speed for this player. I just feel like, when I’m watching Ashton Jeanty? I don’t care if he’s playing against some Mountain West team or Oregon in the third week of the season last year. Every week, he’s like a human pinball machine who just keeps going and going and going.”

However, Kiper is much higher on Hampton. That’s after he posted 4,200 yards from scrimmage and scored 40 touchdowns, with him among the best backs in the country the past two seasons, while at UNC.

“Well, I think everything he did over a two-year period at North Carolina. The burst, the way he hits that traffic. He gets through traffic, gets the daylight and then he can go the distance. I think, you look at that ability? You talk about the ability of Jeanty to break tackles, contact balance. Omarion Hampton has breakaway ability and he’s a big back. He will bust through. He will be a guy in short yardage and goal-line situations, will continue to get the job done. Catch the ball, block as well,” Kiper Jr. said. “The consistency from week to week for Omarion Hampton was outstanding.”

With that, Kiper Jr. has a smaller gap between the two backs with Hampton pushing for a spot in the top-ten. He, compared to where he has Jeanty, has him six spots behind on his most recent big board at No. 10 and his most recent mock draft at No. 12 to the Dallas Cowboys.

“I did not think there was much of a gap. I talked to some teams who agree with that. I’ve always liked Omarion Hampton a lot…To me, to say at 26 – and I think you have Ashton Jeanty around the four-spot. To me, that’s a huge difference. I’m a lot closer than you are. I’m a Jeanty at four but I’m a Hampton in that 10, 11, 12 area,” Kiper said. “You think he’s going to be, I guess, serviceable. I think he can be a hell of a player in the NFL…He’s going to be an all-around, complete back that doesn’t lack in any area. He can run inside, he can bounce it outside, he can go the distance. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and he can block. If you can do all that in your rookie season, you will be doing what Jeanty does if he goes to the Raiders, wherever Jeanty goes. You will be doing the same thing.”

Jeanty and Hampton have separated themselves as the top-two at running back in this draft class, including here by these experts for ESPN. Kiper just thinks the latter is much closer to the former than his fellow expert does in being in the upper half of that first round.

“There’s a drop-off. You said there’s a drop-off after Jeanty to Hampton. I think it’s Jeanty, Hampton close, and then a little bit of a drop-off,” Kiper Jr. said. “I see the gap more between two and three, in terms of running back, than one and two. I think one and two are right here, okay, and two to three is like down here. I think that’s a big difference.”