The 2025 NFL Draft is just over a month away and the direction teams could lean is becoming clearer after the first week of NFL free agency. For the Dallas Cowboys, there is a growing consensus that the team will focus on an offensive playmaker with the No. 12 overall pick.
Dallas has been linked to the top running back and wide receiver prospects, with ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. doubling down on his prediction in his newest mock draft.
Kiper has the Cowboys targeting a "difference-maker" at running back, but it's not Heisman runner-up and Frisco, Texas native Ashton Jeanty.
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Instead, Kiper has the Cowboys selecting North Carolina Tar Heels star Omarion Hampton. Jeanty was already off of the board, going to the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 6 overall pick.
North Carolina Tar Heels running back Omarion Hampton runs for a touchdown.
North Carolina Tar Heels running back Omarion Hampton runs for a touchdown. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
"No change on my Cowboys pick projection from my last mock draft. Hampton actually firmed up his first-round case at the combine, running a 4.46-second 40-yard dash and leaping 10 feet, 10 inches in the broad jump," Kiper wrote. "He is a home run hitter who could spark something in this Dallas running game, which has been dormant for the past two campaigns. The Cowboys averaged 4.0 yards per carry over that time, tied for fourth worst in the league."
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Dallas added veteran running backs Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders in free agency, but Kiper doesn't see that stopping the Cowboys from continuing to bolster the position.
He added,"So, even after signing Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders to low-risk deals, I still think the Cowboys could draft Hampton. He is the kind of difference-maker they need at the position. He rushed for 3,164 yards and 30 touchdowns over the past two seasons."
North Carolina Tar Heels running back Omarion Hampton runs past Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive back Nick Andersen .
North Carolina Tar Heels running back Omarion Hampton runs past Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive back Nick Andersen . / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Hampton, who had an 'amazing' meeting with Dallas at the NFL Combine, capped off his college career rushing for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024, while adding 38 catches for 373 yards and two scores.
Not only would he immediately improve the running back room, he would be the type of pick that would re-energize the fanbase.
The 2025 NFL Draft will be held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with the first round on Thursday, April 24. Rounds 2 and 3 will be held on Friday, April 25, while the final rounds will play out on Saturday, April 26.
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