The Los Angeles Chargers took a major swing on Omarion Hampton at 22nd overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. For an organization that's usually known for a more conservative, draft-and-develop approach, it's easy to forget how surprising a move that was.
Of course, the enthusiasm about the move in the front office seemed to be unanimous. Hampton was a top talent that fell to the Chargers near the end of the first round, and taking a swing on that type of player is almost always justified.
But running back is viewed differently in the modern NFL. Teams have often been lambasted for using a high pick on a running back without a truly developed offensive line, especially on the interior. Hampton, in bursts, has looked like the star Los Angeles was hoping for when they made the selection.
But has the pick justified itself yet? Absolutely not.
That doesn't mean the selection was a mistake, and most of the shortcomings so far have been out of the Hampton's hands. But as the interior offensive line continues to struggle and the offense as a whole appears to be one of the least consistent and productive in the league in his second season, it's at least worth re-visiting what the Chargers other options were—at the very least to re-assure ourselves that the swing on Hampton will pay off eventually.
Omarion Hampton still has star RB potential, but the Chargers seem to be far away from realizing it
There's a reason I was so emphatic in my answer to the above question. Hampton was limited to just eight games last season as he dealt with a leg injury, and even when he was healthy, the Chargers didn't have enough blocking talent to put together a top offensive attack.
This season, things have somehow looked worse. Hampton has totaled just 193 yards on 50 carries through three games—for an underwhelming 3.9 yards per attempt. The Chargers offense has averaged 14.67 points per game, and they currently possess the third-worst EPA per rushing play in the NFL.
This is not to say that Hampton's ceiling is any lower than the Chargers thought it was when they made the selection. But could they not have gotten the same production in the meantime, at least theoretically, out of a free agent running back?
Let's take a look at the players who were drafted after Hampton in the first round in 2025.
23. Matthew Golden, WR
24. Donovan Jackson, OL
25. Jaxson Dart, QB
26. James Pearce, DE
27. Malaki Starks, S
28. Tyleik Williams, DT
29. Josh Conerly, OL
30. Maxwell Hairston, CB
31. Jihaad Campbell, LB
32. Josh Simmons, OL
Now, there are certainly some players on that list who the Chargers absolutely would not want or need at this point—namely Dart, Pearce, and Simmons. But Jackson has looked massively improved in the Minnesota Vikings' blocking scheme in year two, allowing just two pressures on a total of 96 pass-blocking snaps through two weeks. Hairston seems to be developing into a true starting corner of the future for the Buffalo Bills, and both Campbell and Starks look like potential defensive stars.
Would Los Angeles prefer to have any of those players over Hampton in the long-term? Probably not. But the Chargers have clear needs in each of those rooms, and their failure to commit true assets to the interior of their offensive line has made the Hampton pick, through the start of his second season, look majorly underwhelming.
If the offense this year continues at this rate, the Chargers will have three years left of rookie contract control over Hampton (priced at $4.8 and $5 million before his fifth-year option kicks in). When you draft a running back in the first round, the gamble is that he will put up consistent, star-level production before the end of that initial four-year span.
Given what was available behind him, it's hard to say Los Angeles outright made a mistake by drafting Hampton. And if the offense finds its footing and Hampton starts to produce this season, we can set all these concerns to the side.
But as of now, it's safe to say that Los Angeles hasn't made the necessary improvements to their protection and to their offense as a whole to justify spending that pick in the way they did. It will be up to Hampton to save them from that mistake.
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