Four years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected RB Najee Harris 24th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. This offseason, they let him walk as a free agent. Plenty of people will say a team shouldn’t draft a running back in the first round. But could the Steelers do that again?
ESPN analyst Matt Bowen thinks the Steelers could target a running back in the first round this year. He profiled 20 prospects who could go in the first two rounds and his favorite team fits, and he tabbed the Steelers as his favorite fit for UNC RB Omarion Hampton.
“Hampton would step in as the lead runner for the Pittsburgh offense, allowing Jaylen Warren to maintain his role as a change-of-pace back,” Bowen wrote. “Hampton can play downhill, using his contact balance and lower-body power to drive the pile. I could see him producing as a zone runner for coordinator Arthur Smith, picking his running lanes to get vertical and creating explosive plays. Hampton produced 45 rushes of 10 or more yards last season. He would also give the Steelers a bump in the pass game on swings, screens, and unders.”
Hampton was a really good running back for North Carolina over the last two seasons. He led the ACC in carries and yards in both 2023 and 2024 while averaging 5.9 yards per carry each season. He also had 15 rushing touchdowns in back-to-back seasons, leading the conference in 2023. It’s also no coincidence that Hampton became more of a receiving threat for North Carolina over that span as well. He averaged 7.7 yards per catch in 2023 and increased that in 2024 to an average of 9.8.
On paper, you can definitely see why Bowen thinks Hampton would be a good fit for the Steelers. And Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora saw some of those traits during his time scouting Hampton. Kozora highlighted Hampton’s vision and patience as a runner while also highlighting his decisiveness once he finds the hole.
Hampton ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, but Kozora didn’t see that top-end speed really translate to the field at North Carolina. And while Hampton posted a 9.70 Relative Athletic Score based on his Combine testing, does the tape necessarily show him as a top-end athlete?
That’s a question a team like the Steelers needs to answer if they’re considering drafting Omarion Hampton in the first round in April. But what’s certain is that Hampton fits the bill of the kind of runner who would fit in Arthur Smith’s scheme in Pittsburgh.
Recommended for you