DRAFT DEBATE: Should the Broncos Shock Everyone & Take Omarion Hampton at 20?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is true in life but this is also the reality when it comes to the NFL draft.

You ask the top 10 evaluators from across the NFL to stack their big boards and positional rankings for any given class, and one is sure to find anything but consensus. This is exceedingly true the further one gets from the top of a class. Things are blurry, and lists get jumbled.

And in a class liked that of the 2025 NFL draft, where there are purportedly far fewer true first-round grades on players, but a lot of talent in the Round 2 to 4 range, who might even be there when the Denver Broncos are on the clock at pick 20, let alone answering who the best player to pick is when the time comes will vary in opinion from one person to the next.

Just as CBS Sports' Mike Renner recoiled at the thought of the Broncos’ using the 20th overall selection on North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton, ESPN’s Benjamin Solak would applaud the Broncos for landing a projectable bell-cow running back with a prototypical frame.  

If the Broncos were to take Hampton in the first round, Solak pledged to “write irresponsibly optimistic things about their (the Broncos) 2025 season.”

Solak expressed excitement and optimism for an offense that is set to return all five of it’s offensive lineman from last season and one of the better pass-protecting units in the league, as well as the late-season emergence of Marvin Mims Jr., and the unheralded Courtland Sutton. The infrastructure in place in 2024 was fairly supportive to Bo Nix, who could continue to grow next season.

"They just need a three-down back, and Hampton should make it to their pick. I grade him as a clear Round 1 player and a potential Pro Bowler," Solak wrote. "It would be one of my favorite selections of the entire draft, sight unseen."

Solak appears to be one of the larger advocates for the Broncos to disregard recent positional draft precedent and take Hampton at 20. There's a reason Hampton could be available at 20 in comparison to Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, who might not make it past pick No. 5, let alone 10.

Hampton is big, physical, and explosive but he doesn’t offer as much pass-catching upside, open-field creativity, or a special breakaway gear, and he has some questionable down-to-down vision as a runner. Still, given his size, ability to break tackles, and impressive overall explosiveness in contrast to the mass he supports, it makes sense he is getting first-round buzz.

Is Hampton so truly excellent that he's worth bypassing positions that are significantly harder to find the further the draft gets from the first round, compared to running back, which is historically one of the positions where great players can be found all the way through the seven rounds and even sometimes in the undrafted free agent pool?

If the Broncos view Hampton as a true first-round-graded player like Solak does, in a class with very few true round-one grades total, then it could make sense.

However, if the Broncos instead view Hampton as simliar to the options further down the board, perhaps it would be a better strategy for resource allocation to take a different prospect at 20 and look to nab a running back at 51 or 85. It should and will come down to how the Broncos evaluate Hampton individually.

What if Sean Payton thinks Hampton can be a cherry on top of an offense that can grow into a top 3 unit over the next few seasons? It’s not as hard of an argument to make, even if the position is devalued in an overall deep pool of backs in the draft class.