Jim Harbaugh’s vision to transform the Chargers from a 10 personnel shotgun pass happy offense into a heavy personnel run first power attack was already rounding into fruition with off-season additions of Mehki Becton, Andre James, Najee Harris and Tyler Conklin. They then doubled down on running back with Omarion Hampton, out of North Carolina, taking him with the 22nd overall pick in the 2025 draft.

In my final thoughts before Round 1 began I put Hampton into the ‘Understanding’ category saying:

“Now to be clear I love Hampton but the Day 2 class is loaded full of running backs and the value is just not there at 22nd overall. If a trade down happens then we can revisit this.”

As you can expect my first reaction was one therefore one of muted enthusiasm. I have been very public with my admiration of Omarion’s skillset and how he would fit in perfectly with Greg Roman’s gap heavy scheme however I wasn’t a huge fan of the value of the pick at the time. Having slept on it I have reached a position of clarity about why it was the right call considering what was left on the board. You can read my profile of Hampton in the link below and a full film breakdown will be coming up in a few weeks’ time:

The Context of The Pick

Rumors are circling that the Vikings are apparently interested in taking a running back early in this draft as are the Chiefs, Ravens and Commanders. So with those four teams stacked behind the Bolts, we can appreciate why they didn’t want to miss out on their guy especially if they have a significantly higher grade on him than the next tier of players. There is also a secondary benefit to this pick; it takes Hampton away from the other playoff rivals, sometimes you have to consider the cost of not taking a player because of where he can land.

The reality is that most teams have 14-18 first round grades in any given year however in what is considered a bottom heavy class lacking in top end talent that number is likely to be between 12-15. Therefore when you’re picking in the early 20s sometimes it’s just about getting that last guy with a first round grade, the last guy you think can change your team’s fortunes. For the Chargers it appears that this came in the form of Omarion Hampton.

Possible Alternatives: Trade Out

As we could all see from the broadcast it looked like Ed Maguire punched the clock on the pick at the very last second with Joe Hortiz still on the phone as the clock was running down to triple zeroes. To me that tells us that they’d have preferred to trade back but the value wasn’t there, if this was the case and they were low-balled then I fully support Joe in not budging for the sake of it.

Interestingly Sam Monson and Steve Palzollo from The 33rd Team reported during their livestream that it was the Eagles who were trying to trade for the 22nd pick, since then this has been confirmed by Ian Rapoport. Now there are two ways of looking at what this could have meant:

1. A trade up from 32 to 22

   • A) This could be achieved by using pick 32, 116 and a 2026 3rd
   • B) The alternative (as suggested by Tau) could have been swapping 32 and 64 for 22, 125 and 158

2. A trade into 22 using 64 and their 2026 1st

Firstly any trade involving a 2026 1st doesn’t fit what the aim is for this year and secondly, that future pick would likely be in the 28th – 32nd range so it’s not as appealing as it appears at a glance. I think the most likely scenario is that the Chargers wanted to push for 1B and get pick 64 but the Eagles weren’t willing to give that up and wanted to use future mid round capital instead.

This would have also been true of the other likely trade candidate in the Atlanta Falcons as even though they gave up a vast sum to get a second edge rusher in James Pearce Jr, it would have meant the Bolts going from 22 to 46 to take their first pick of this class which just wouldn’t make sense for a playoff team on the ascension.

Possible Alternatives: The Prospects

There were a few options available at this point and I have given my opinion on why each wasn’t quite right for Joe Hortiz and his staff. The first is Will Johnson, the former Michigan Wolverine, who has dropped from top 5 contention to out of the first round completely because of a combination of a rumored chronic knee problem and his refusal to run a 40 yard dash. I had a much lower grade on him than most analysts with him landing as my CB4 with a late 2nd round grade, I spent more time on Will than any other player in the draft, I watched every snap of the nine games across his last two years to be sure on my negative opinion. For this already pessimistic impression to be compounded by these negative reports pushed him way down my wish-list at pick 22. The fact that Jesse Minter didn’t pound the table for him speaks volumes to me.

Mike Green has fallen out of the first round completely and for good reason, the off-field concerns are bad enough to take him off of boards altogether but for me his tape is too one dimensional to warrant a pick that early anyway. Someone will take a chance on him, it’s the NFL someone always does, but he might fall even further with the reports of criminal activity attached to his name.

I think James Pearce Jr is a brilliant prospect but there are apparently character flaws that appeared during interviews so maybe that’s why they opted out of him. As fans we will never know what is said in that room but if 25 teams were willing to pass on a long athletic pass rusher with good production in the SEC then there must be something to it.

So then it came down to a choice between Matthew Golden, who would have been the 4th wide receiver off the board, or Hampton. I was a big fan of Golden’s tape but as Alex Katson, from Chargers Wire, pointed out he does not show a willingness to block and this may have been enough to make the decision. I think it’s more about brand identity, who will touch the ball more and who will win them games in the way they want to for years to come? The answer was made easier when you look at it from this point of view.

I am aware that some people liked us to take Donovan Ezeiruaku or one of the tight ends up with upside like Mason Taylor or Terrance Ferguson but none of these options should have been on the table in my opinion as they all fall several tiers below Omarion Hampton.

The Context of Failed Experiments

My good friend and Stormcloud’s very own GM, Kyle DeDiminicantanio highlighted that the Chargers have tried to patchwork fix the running back position for several years now, including in Harbaugh’s first year running his brand of smash mouth football, and it hasn’t even come close to paying off. This staff and front office couldn’t wait any longer for someone cheap to develop into something expensive.

The league wide shift back towards the ground game has featured expensive running backs at the vanguard in Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs. Between them they have made a strong case that now is the time to invest in the elite talents to grind out wins the old school way and that’s exactly what they did.

Scheme Fit

Not only is Hampton a fantastic fit for Greg Roman’s scheme with his prowess at charting a course through the layered blocks of gap concepts with a patience that allows his explosive athleticism to reach its full potential. Omarion is also a fantastic pass protector on third downs, a rarity for most college backs, and he can contribute to the passing game with underutilized route running skills and reliable hands.

Justin Herbert will also be happy to see someone else to take some attention away from him as it will open up the play action game even more. Herbert thrived on these play calls and that was without any kind of threat to run especially in the second half against teams with disciplined fronts. Hampton’s addition only increases the chances of successfully springing a deep PA shot on early downs, something Mike Williams has excelled at in the past.

In Summary

Whilst the feeling wasn’t one of pure jubilation like in 2018 and 2021, the more I thin about it the more I think this pick was the right one given the context of the board. In my opinion Hampton would have been the first back taken in 5 of the last 6 draft classes (Bijan Robinson being the only outlier) and for a team who wants to win by running the ball, it just makes too much sense even if the value wasn’t perfect.

Let us know what you think Stormcloud community! I want your unfiltered thoughts in the comments (yes even you Alister!) and please vote on how you would grade the pick in the poll below: