Broncos Cautioned Against Drafting Omarion Hampton at No. 20 by CBS

With the 2025 NFL draft now just a week away, the discussion surrounding the Denver Broncos’ pick at No. 20 overall has boiled down to this: Will North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton be available, and is he the type of running back worthy of a top-20 selection?

The opinion on the matter is very split. Some think the Broncos are a running back away from truly competing for the Super Bowl next season.

Others believe Hampton is a prospect just as good as Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. Others aren't as high on Hampton, and some, in principle, don't think a first-round pick on a running back is, in general, a smart investment.

Count CBS Sports' Mike Renner in the group that is hesitant for any team to draft a running back in the first round. In a recent episode of Pushing the Pile discussing the superlative of “the player/team fit they've seen the most that they hate," Renner flagged Hampton to Denver at 20 as a mocked selection he struggles to stomach.

“I just... I get (needing) weapons for Bo Nix, but I push back on the fact that a running back is really a weapon for a quarterback. Like you need to promote Bo Nix throwing down the football field," Renner said. "You don't need to promote Bo Nix throwing to a running back.”

Co-jpst and long-time former offensive lineman Kyle Long offered a counterpoint

“Running backs are weapons for the offense," Long said. "Quarterbacks' weapons look like me (an offensive lineman), or they look like Travis Hunter. “So again, Omarion Hampton, great running back. I hate doing this conversation every single year, but especially this year, because there's just so many damn good running backs that draft at 20, he might not be too dissimilar than the guy you can get at 52, than the guy you can get at 85. I'm just saying.”

One aspect Broncos head coach Sean Payton might disagree on is whether a running back is a weapon for the quarterback. During Thursday’s pre-draft press conference, Payton touted that there are “two great allies that help quarterback play: it's real good defense and obviously a real good running game.”

There's no doubt that the running game, as an entire system, matters, but just how much the variable of a singular running back weighs in the complete system is, and will continue to be, debated.

Overall, the Broncos’ run-game infrastructure is pretty good. Many of the advanced stats that attempt to isolate the offensive line from the rest of the offense, such as run-block win rate or rushing yards before contact, point to the Broncos having one of the better run-blocking units in football.

However, the Broncos' overall run-game numbers and metrics that attempt to isolate the individual running back point towards an obvious issue at running back. Denver isn't maximizing a pretty good environment for running back success.

All football metrics are inherently flawed to a certain extent. It’s a small-sample-size sport, and it’s impossible to truly isolate any specific player or variable on the field, as everything happens quickly within a complicated, orchestrated system. And with all the numbers available, our eyes alone can tell us the truth that the Broncos’ rushing offense was simply not up to par last season.

The question isn’t whether or not the Broncos need to add additional running back(s) to the offense, but rather what is the proper valuation of the prospects available to maximize the return of each pick they currently own.

Is Hampton such a special back with a complete overall skill set that he’s a no-brainer at 20, assuming he makes it there? Or is this such a uniquely deep and talented running back class that Denver can afford to wait until pick 51 or 85, as Renner suggests?

We'll find out on April 24.