It is always he says, she says, when it comes to who the Dallas Cowboys might take in the first round in April, and we all have our thoughts about who they should take, yet a new player has jumped into the first round for them.
It is a running back, and no it is not Ashton Jeanty, the guy that everyone says the Dallas Cowboys should take if he is there.
As we know, Rico Dowdle is set to hit free agency, and he was pretty productive when he was handed the keys full-time.
Rushing for 1,079 yards on 235 carries for 4.6 yards per carry. He only had two touchdowns, which reinforced the notion that he is more of a change-of-pace back than a feature one.
Omarion Hampton is a RB I’m keeping my eyes on in the 2025 NFL Draft.
– big powerful inside & short yardage runner
– effective pass blocker
– solid pass catcher
– 24’ = 2nd in the country in rushing
– 24’ = 1,660 yards in 12 games, with 15 touchdown runs2nd favorite RB for 25’ pic.twitter.com/7q6IFVvqP1
— PPRFantasyTips (@PPRFantasyTips) February 26, 2025
New Back?
So if the guy is not Jeanty, who is the only college running back that up until about this week nobody had as a lock to go first round either to the Cowboys or to someone else?
The Cowboys own the No. 12 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and people are now saying Dallas could take Omarion Hampton. It started with Mel Kiper, and we all should know that he nearly never gets anything right, so that’s that.
Yet, I am thinking the same thing as you are. Who is that?
Well, Hampton has been compared to David Montgomery for his imposing physical size (6-foot, 220 pounds) and slashing running style in the open field. He’s also a terror inside the red zone, especially in short-yardage situations.
https://twitter.com/ESPNBET/status/1852842240101462115
Hampton rushed for 3,565 yards on 622 carries in 38 games at North Carolina, with 40 total touchdowns and 36 of those scores coming on the ground.
Some say he would be the perfect fit in a revamped Cowboys’ offensive scheme under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer who portends to employ a run-heavy attack looking at his family history.
Kiper Says
Kiper says that those in draft circles have Jeanty and Hampton “neck and neck” for RB1. With Jeanty off the board to the Las Vegas Raiders in the top 10, the Cowboys pull the trigger on a “home-run hitter.”
“To jump-start the run game, the Cowboys actually need a legit running back. Rico Dowdle was decent (1,079 yards), but he’s a free agent and Dallas will likely want to upgrade,” Kiper writes.
“Plus, this team has been known to use early picks at the position in the past, including drafting Ezekiel Elliott at No. 4 in 2016. Hampton is a home-run hitter who had 1,660 yards and 15 rushing TDs in 2024.”
Mel Kiper Jr mock draft 2.0 has the Cowboys taking a RB at No. 12. But not the one you think. https://t.co/hGhV5od5HZ pic.twitter.com/BdT2sT11VV
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) February 25, 2025
Whether you actually think that this kid has a chance of being better than Jeanty, that is up to you.
If the Cowboys are going to take a running back and can’t land the Boise State product at pick 12, I would just wait.
This feels like a massive reach for a guy who had been slotted into the back end of the second round for the last two and a half months.
I still think the Dallas Cowboys have much bigger needs than drafting a running back in the first round no matter which one it is.
They have no depth on the defensive line, two to three unproven guys on the offensive line, so taking a running back will be needed, but plenty of good ones left in the 2nd, 3rd and even 4th rounds.
I LOVE TreVeyon Henderson. And I won't be surprised if he goes much earlier than anyone thinks.
Take a look at his stable metics via @PFF in 2024: https://t.co/WukReES7yB pic.twitter.com/JBkAU2Poc3
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) February 25, 2025
Let’s see how this starts to play out as the combine starts and the Dallas Cowboys speak to players.
It is impossible to know what Jerry Jones and crew are going to do, but I still think it would be a reach to take any other back in the first outside of Jeanty, and I honestly don’t even really want him.
