Recent Omarion Hampton Update Fans Growing Bears Rumors

The Chicago Bears meeting with Ashton Jeanty was no surprise. Everybody expects the Heisman finalist to go in the top 10, ranking in the same tier as previous high picks like Bijan Robinson and Saquon Barkley. Things got interesting when the team hosted North Carolina's Omarion Hampton. While not considered quite at Jeanty's level, he is close enough. Everybody believes he will go in the 1st round as well. If the Bears are meeting with him, that means there is serious consideration for taking him that high if Jeanty is gone.

Some people think that is crazy. In their eyes, Jeanty was already tough to argue because running backs shouldn't go in the top 10 due to positional value. Hampton is even more difficult, at least among fans and media. Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron, who has plenty of contacts around the league, makes it sound like it isn't nearly as difficult to sell to actual teams. This comes from the reality that the 2025 draft class is weak at the top. Lots of prospects have serious question marks. Taking a player with a high chance of being productive seems like the smart play.

Even if that player is a running back.

But let’s be honest, the odds that Jeanty makes it to 10 are pretty low. With a lack of blue-chip prospects in this draft, someone is going to take the blue-chipper in Jeanty because of a lack of options, even if the running back value for a top ten pick isn’t great.

But that doesn’t mean the Bears should give up on the running back dream, because Hampton will almost certainly be there. Hampton is a guy who can do it all and immediately start as a rookie. He projects to become an excellent running back in this league, and there’s no reason to worry too much about positional value with the tenth pick when the draft class is just so weak...

...If Jeanty is there, of course you do it, if Hampton is there, you should do it.

Omarion Hampton isn't flashy. That doesn't mean he's bad.

Bears' history is littered with times when the team didn't take the flashiest player and was rewarded for it. Think Brian Urlacher in 2000, Kyle Long in 2013, and Roquan Smith in 2018. Sometimes, the best thing to do is take somebody who looks like he will be a good football player. Omarion Hampton checks that box. He was uber-productive for two seasons at UNC, with huge performances against Miami, Clemson, and Florida State. This isn't somebody who feasted on cupcakes during his college career. The fact that he compares to David Montgomery means that he should also be an excellent fit for Ben Johnson's offense. Everything points to Hampton having a long and solid career. There isn't much difference between taking him at #10 or #15. Not in this draft.