Despite being the second running back drafted this past April, Hamtpon has been ranked above Ashton Jeanty amongst the NFL’s top backs heading into 2025.
Omarion Hampton was selected by the Chargers with the 22nd-overall pick in this year’s draft. He was the second running back off the board behind Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty who went sixth overall to the Raiders.
Despite the latter being the more-hyped prospect, a former star back in the NFL actually has Hampton ranked higher amongst all NFL ball carriers entering the 2025 regular season. Per Maurice Jones-Drew who starred with the Jaguars in his day, Hampton is already his 13th ranked running back in the NFL before ever taking a carry. That’s better than the likes of James Connor (14th), Chuba Hubbard (15th), and Kenneth Walker (16th). Jeanty landed at 17th on MJD’s rankings, four spots behind Hampton.
“Some of you might be surprised to see Hampton ranked higher than No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty, based on their respective standings in my pre-draft RB rankings, but hear me out,” says MJD. “Hampton joins a Jim Harbaugh-led offense that loves to the run the ball, so there will be plenty of touches to go around. He should be the bell cow for this unit — with veteran Najee Harris in the backup role — thanks to his patience and ability to bounce off defenders. Hampton is in the perfect situation to find early success, and while you could say similar things about Jeanty, Pete Carroll’s recent comments (which I’ll get to in a minute) swayed my opinion some.”
As for those opinions that swayed his opinion on Jeanty, Carroll recently told reporters that the team would not rely solely on Jeanty, but rather utilize their entire stable that includes veteran Raheem Mostert and youngsters Zamir White and Sincere McCormick. If those comments hold in anyway true, that’s four backs who may end up touching the ball each week in some capacity. That’s not the what you want to hear if you were expecting a true workhorse load for Jeanty in year one.
As MJD pointed out, whether it’s truly Hampton over Harris or vice-versa, it sounds like the Chargers will likely stick with a two-back approach barring any injuries at the top of the depth chart. In that case, Hampton should be the winner of any snap count battle between the two top rookies. Of course we won’t know until the season begins to play out, but MJD at least makes a decent point here with his rankings.
Omarion Hampton is yet another reason why you don’t need to draft a RB inside the damn Top-15 (Yes Even Ashton Jeanty)
6’1” 220+ with hands and wheels. Hampton is a certified stud. David Johnson 2.0 in the making. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/NzXKvFMvgX
— Ray G (@RayGQue) December 1, 2024
What do you all think? Is Hampton being touted too highly here? Should he be lower? What about higher? Let us know all your thoughts below!