At this point, the more surprising thing might be if the Denver Broncos don’t somehow end up selecting a running back in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.
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ESPN’s Field Yates was the latest to join the growing chorus of predictions to finally bring the Broncos an elite running back, with Yates predicting Denver will take North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton with the No. 20 overall pick.
“I see Hampton as a legitimate three-down back for coach Sean Payton,” Yates wrote on Paril 3. “Hampton had back-to-back seasons with 1,500-plus rushing yards and can be a factor in the passing game (67 catches over the past two seasons). He ran a 4.46-second 40 at 221 pounds at the combine, too.”
The Broncos are coming off their first playoff appearance in a decade and finally have a franchise quarterback in Bo Nix, who went from the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft to an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist.
Hampton One of 2 RBs With First Round Grades
Hampton is one of 2 running backs with first round grades alongside Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, although this year’s running backs class is looked at as unusually deep.
Hampton put up back-to-back All-American seasons in 2023 and 2024 for the Tar Heels. In 2024, he rushed for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 5.9 yards per carry to go with 38 receptions for 373 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Hampton checked in at 6-foot and 221 pounds at the NFL scouting combine.
Bleacher Report’s Dame Parson graded Hampton out as a Year 1 starter in his pre-draft evaluation and compared him to Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery, who has rushed for over 1,000 yards twice in the last 5 seasons and has over 1,000 yards from scrimmage each of the last 6 seasons.
Broncos Could Go All In, Add Another First Rounder
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell recently proposed a trade that would land the Broncos a second first round pick in 2025 — swapping their 2026 first round pick and 2025 second round pick (No. 51 overall) in exchange for the Philadelphia Eagles’ first round pick (No. 32 overall) and third round pick (No. 96) overall.
“Sean Payton has also been on the other side of this sort of move,” Barnwell wrote. “In 2011, the then-Saints coach sent his second-round pick and a future first-rounder to the Patriots, drafting running back Mark Ingram late in the first round. Now, Payton’s Broncos need a running back to help out Bo Nix. If they don’t take a back at No. 20, they might want to grab him here to get ahead of the Browns, Raiders and Cowboys in Round 2, teams that have needs at the position.”
The power move for the Broncos might be to use one of the picks on a running back and one of the picks on an elite wide receiver — imagine getting 2 elite offensive weapons to grow alongside Nix in the same round?
The Broncos last drafted a wide receiver in the first round when they took Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy at No. 15 overall in 2020. Denver hasn’t drafted a running back in the first round since taking Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno at No. 12 overall in 2009.
