Running back Omarion Hampton has been a standout for years. After dominating at Cleveland High School, he committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels and earned back-to-back first-team All-American honors in 2023 and 2024.
Now, Hampton is set to take on the NFL and continue his rise to greatness.
Omarion Hampton Aims to Uplift the RB Role
As the draft approaches, conversations around Hampton’s potential impact on an offense have intensified.
On a recent episode of Nightcap, Shannon Sharpe praised the evolving value of the running back position, crediting stars like Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry for reshaping its importance. He then asked the 22-year-old what he’d bring to the team that selects him.
“Just like Derrick Henry and Saquon are doing their thing out there, I feel like it’s putting more value in the position,” Hampton said. “If a team drafts me, they’re going to get a three-down back. They’re going to get a guy that plays special teams.”
“Everybody can run in this league, so pass protection is a big thing I key on. Catching out of the backfield is another thing I key on—learning defense, learning where the safeties are, learning how the linebackers move, and stuff like that.”
Hampton’s dominance at UNC is in a league of its own. Only a handful of players in Tar Heels history had better stints. With 3,565 career rushing yards, he ranks fourth all-time at the school, and his 36 rushing touchdowns place him third.
Beyond the stats, Hampton also owns two of the top 10 single-season all-purpose yard performances in school history—including a program-record 2,033 yards in 2024.
He’s widely viewed as one of the top prospects in this year’s draft class. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranks him No. 10 overall, ahead of players like Will Campbell and Colston Loveland.
At the NFL Combine, Hampton backed up the hype. Measuring 6 feet and 221 pounds, he ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash, posted a 38-inch vertical, and recorded a 10-foot-10 broad jump.
While this year’s RB class is loaded with talent, few match Hampton’s ability to gain yards after contact.
According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked second nationally in yards after contact in 2024—trailing only Ashton Jeanty—and landed in the 97th percentile. He led the FBS in the same category in 2023 and has forced more than 60 missed tackles in each of the past two seasons.
Yet some critics still ask, “Is he too versatile?” Really?
KEEP READING: 2025 NFL Draft RB Rankings
In today’s NFL—where running backs are expected to block, catch passes, and sometimes solve calculus mid-play—Hampton’s all-around skill set is exactly what teams crave.
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