“Poor man’s Derrick Henry” - Nick Wright sees Broncos adding Omarion Hampton in 2025 NFL Draft

The Denver Broncos impressed during the 2024 season, making the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season. However, the running game struggled throughout the season, with an average of 4.1 yards per carry and no running back surpassing 550 rushing yards.

Running back is a big need for the team. Denver is one of the contenders to draft Ashton Jeanty from Boise State, but with pick #20, it's not likely that he'll still be available.

In a recent mock draft on First Things First at Fox Sports, Nick Wright assigned a running back for the franchise, although not the expected one. He thinks that the Broncos will draft Omarion Hampton, from North Carolina, with the 20th pick:

"The Broncos, man, I feel like they're going with one of these great running backs of this class, Omarion Hampton... the comps you keep seeing, he's like a poor man's Derrick Henry, which would be great"

In this mock draft, only two running backs are taken in the first round of the draft. Jeanty, from Boise State, is largely considered the best player of the class and is expected to be chosen by the Las Vegas Raiders with the sixth overall pick.

Lance Zierlein compares Broncos target Omarion Hampton to Patriots' star Rhamondre Stevenson

The NFL Network analyst also sees Hampton as a player who excels due to his physique. Here's his scouting report on the North Carolina running back:

"Hampton is a linear runner lacking creativity and wiggle, but once the gas is engaged, he runs like a downhill truck whose brake lines have been cut. He has the base, balance and power to batter tacklers and reignite runs after contact."

"Hampton is a tone-setting future starter who can handle a heavy workload, but he absorbs rare levels of heavy contact that could create durability or longevity issues if he doesn’t learn to pick and choose his battles."

Zierlein went on to say that his pro comparison for Hampton was Rhamondre Stevenson, who has a similar profile as a big running back who excels through contact but lacks top speed. Stevenson has 21 touchdowns throughout his career.