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It has been an interesting offseason for the Los Angeles Chargers, who have some hidden gems. And one of their young receivers has been shining. But here is the Chargers' rising rookie who has been turning heads in the team’s 2025 OTAs.
Leading the way has been the Chargers’ first-round pick. Running back Omarion Hampton looks like a quality selection at this point in the preseason.
Hampton has been catching passes and creating a buzz for the Chargers before summer even arrives. He’s 6-foot and 220 pounds, bringing the size and speed of a potentially dominant running back, according to nbcphiladelphia.com.
“Just his ability to be a runner on every single down,” Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Efficient runs. Big runs. To be able to catch the ball out of the backfield. To be able to pass protect. Physical. Strong. Ready.”
Chargers Omarion Hampton excited about RB room
Harbaugh said Hampton is a unique player.
“This is one of those players, everybody that you talk to, go back to college, go back to high school, the way he’s affected people in a positive way,” Harbaugh said. “The amount of great things that people say about him as a person. His football intelligence. His work ethic.
“It’s like, yeah, let me tell you about Omarion Hampton. He is the best player I’ve every coached. But he’s even a better person. He’s the kind of guy I would want to marry my daughter. When you hear that, you know when it’s sincere. And when you’re hearing it from every single person. It makes us proud to have him on our team.”
Hampton knows Harbaugh wants to run the football, so he said he’s ready to contribute, according to The Jim Rome Show via nfl.com.
“We know they're going to run the ball, so I'm loving it,” Hampton said. “I'm excited, we got me and Najee (Harris), a dominant duo backfield. I'm excited to learn from him, I'm excited to get out there. We got a good offensive line, a good quarterback. I feel like we're building something special here.”
Chargers RB Omarion Hampton had good college numbers
Hampton brings statistical credentials. In 12 games in his final season at North Carolina, Hampton averaged over 175 total yards per contest. He became the fourth FBS player with 1,500-plus rush yards and 15-plus rush touchdowns in consecutive seasons since 2016, per NFL Research.
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Of course, that’s a workhorse back, and that would endear him to Harbaugh, according to a post on X by Jim Rome.
“It’s been great,” Hampton said. “Just getting to know (Harbaugh). We know he’s going to run the ball. That’s something he wants to do. He’s did it all his career. So I mean, I’m just excited to get started. With him being my head coach, I couldn’t be more happy.”
Chargers RB Omarion Hampton a giant?
Harbaugh seemed to be much smaller than Hampton in a photo that circulated the Internet after the draft. Rich Eisen asked Harbuagh about the photo, according to yahoo.com via The Rich Eisen Show.
“There's a photograph that's out there of you shaking his hand,” Eisen said. “And I don't know if this is the angle or not or whatever, but he looks like a giant in this photograph, and you're not a small man. That's a real photograph, right?”
Of course, Harbaugh acknowledged the photo was real.
“I'm a little bit taller, but he's definitely,” Harbaugh said. “Here's the interesting thing: he's about 222…224 pounds. I bet if I got on the scale right now, I'd be 220…maybe 222…maybe 224. His 224 is chiseled out of granite.”
That description is a reason for Chargers fans to be excited. A workhorse back has to be able to carry a heavy load, especially for a grinding Harbaugh offense.
Furthermore, Harbaugh said the Chargers were taken aback when Hampton remained on the board at No. 22, according to Sports Illustrated via The Rich Eisen Show.
“We were pretty darn shocked that he was there. There were some teams calling, trying to trade up,” Harbaugh said. “For this player, it's going to have to be something that blows us away. And there were some good deals where we said, ‘this is our guy, let's press the button and pick him.'”
