For the 2025 NFL Draft, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is drawing most of the first-round buzz. But he might not be the only runner to hear his name called on Thursday night. Following similar suit as NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah who put three running backs in his latest mock draft, including Jeanty to Pittsburgh, draft analyst Todd McShay has the Steelers taking a runner in the first round. But it’s not Jeanty. Instead, he has the Steelers taking North Carolina’s RB Omarion Hampton No. 21 overall of his initial mock draft.
“With Najee Harris slated to be an unrestricted free agent and Jaylen Warren headed toward restricted free agency, the Steelers don’t have an obvious in-house candidate to lead their running back room in 2025.
“Hampton’s a downhill runner who brings the yards-after-contact skills that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has historically coveted. He’d be an immediate talent upgrade at the position from a skill set and contract perspective, functioning as a cheaper, higher-upside version of Harris. Pittsburgh also has needs in the secondary and could target FSU cornerback Azareye’h Thomas with this pick if it decides to address the running back position later in the draft or in free agency.”
He’s one of three running backs included in the first round of McShay’s mock, joining Jeanty at No. 12 to the Dallas Cowboys and Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson at No. 24 to the Minnesota Vikings.
Pittsburgh will have a need at running back should Harris hit free agency, something most – though not all – beat writers expect to happen. Hampton is drawing more attention ahead of the NFL Combine, also mocked in the first round in Jeremiah’s recent edition.
McShay’s notes are similar to what we wrote in our Omarion Hampton scouting report. We noted his size, break-tackle ability, and well-rounded game. Production certainly isn’t a concern, rushing for over 1,500 yards in each of his past two seasons. On tape, he runs tough and is hard to bring down, the hard-edged runner Pittsburgh has generally drafted for the past 20 years.
But our scouting report concluded with a less optimistic tone.
“Overall, Hampton had an excellent college career and is a well-rounded runner with few weak spots in his game. He has vision, power, balance, can catch and block. How he tests will be key to really measure out his athleticism. I question if it’s just good-not-great that could max out his big-play ability at the NFL level and make him someone who consistently barrels ahead, breaks some tackles, but isn’t dynamic enough to be a standalone No. 1 runner and a top-tier back.”
And gave Hampton a third-round grade, though an impressive Combine workout that shows higher-end athleticism could improve his outlook.
Replacing a former first-round runner with another won’t make most of the fanbase happy, especially with plenty of other needs. Still, the Steelers have at least invested heavily in the offensive line first before taking a running back, something they didn’t do when they selected Harris. Predictably, he ended up having little room to run. But with defensive line, wide receiver, and cornerback all areas of greater value to address, seeing the No. 2 running back become the Steelers No. 1 pick will be a tough pill to swallow.
Check out McShay’s entire first-round mock on his The McShay Report. And read our entire report on Hampton that is below.
