Ashton Jeanty is considered by many to be a generational running back prospect. He had a historic season this past year, leading to a second-place finish in the Heisman race behind two-way star Travis Hunter.
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Jeanty has received plenty of flattering comparisons to recent top running back prospects, such as Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, who both went in the top 12 of the 2022 NFL draft.
This year’s draft could turn out very similar to the 2022 draft, however, based on recent buzz from another running back prospect.
Omarion Hampton, a running back out of North Carolina, is starting to get buzz as a potential top half of the first-round pick.
North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton continues to skyrocket up draft boards. One executive I spoke with compared him and Ashton Jeanty to the Bijan Robinson-Jahmyr Gibbs class, saying both will go “very early.”
Hampton — who’s being lauded for his combination of vision, balance and… pic.twitter.com/mCPintG3f4
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 5, 2025
With Jeanty rumored to go as high as fourth to the New England Patriots, but most likely to the Las Vegas Raiders at the sixth pick, that leaves other running back needy teams left to decide on if they want Hampton.
If Hampton really is considered the level of talent of Robinson and Gibbs, then he seems worth a top-12 pick. Both Gibbs and Robinson are huge parts of their team’s offenses, and neither team seems to regret picking those players, despite the stigma of picking running backs early.
The top candidates to select Hampton high in the draft seem to be the Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys.
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The Chicago Bears do have D’Andre Swift who is a solid back, but Ben Johnson is coming from the Detroit Lions who employed both Gibbs and David Montgomery. Hampton and Swift could form an interesting duo of their own in Chicago.
The Cowboys currently have Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams as their running backs, who just aren’t quite up to standards for starting running backs. Both players have strengths and potential for solid contributions, but nowhere near the upside, Hampton would provide to their backfield.
In mock drafts, Hampton is often mocked to the early twenties or even late twenties to a team like the Washington Commanders. However, reports are starting to suggest that this may be too low.
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While at this point in the draft process, plenty of rumors come out that are taken as fact and run with, this rumor has some ground to stand on given the potential teams towards the top of the first round that need a running back.
If one of the lower teams who needs a running back trades up on draft night, that would all but provide instant confirmation of this rumor being true.
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