Plugged-In Analyst Makes Vikings “Chaos Pick” In Mock Draft
The highly anticipated NFL Draft is near, and the Vikings hold pick 24. Most mock drafters send safeties to combat the departure of Cam Bynum and the aging process of Harrison Smith, which makes sense. Completing the interior line’s overhaul by drafting a guard does, too, and adding a successor for the older defensive tackles isn’t the worst idea either.
Plugged-In Analyst Makes Vikings “Chaos Pick” In Mock Draft
None of that would be surprising one bit. But what if there’s some chaos involved?
Well, ESPN’s Peter Schrager dropped his final mock draft, and the article is literally called “Schrager’s NFL mock draft: 32 predictions based on sources around the league.”
The man is one of those NFL insiders people should listen to because he’s usually right. No wonder his mock drafts are always among the best in the business. Last year, he had J.J. McCarthy go to the Vikings and had the second-most accurate mock draft in the entire industry.
His pick for the Vikings this year? Omarion Hampton, running back, North Carolina.
The Vikings have a pair of running backs under contract – Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason – and they are both signed through 2026. Schrager knows that and still feels that acquiring another halfback could be a decent idea.
He explained, “The Vikings have needs elsewhere and wouldn’t list running back as a clear hole on their roster. But if Hampton is on the board, he’d be a wonderful addition to a young core that the organization hopes can grow old together.”
Interestingly, he had Michigan’s corner Will Johnson drop all the way to 28. It would be a strange drop for the consensus CB2 in the class, and it might be even more bizarre for the Vikings to pass on him if he’s really falling to them. Donovan Jackson, a trusted guard in this year’s class, is Schrager’s 25th pick, right after the Vikings select Hampton.
Also noteworthy is the fact that he thinks the Giants would trade up from the second round to 26, just two picks behind the Vikings. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah should give them a call.
ESPN’s Vikings writer Kevin Seifert called Schrager’s Vikings move a “Chaos Pick” on social media.
Hampton is a fantastic running back, but is flying under the radar because of Ashton Jeanty’s presence, pretty similar to Jahmyr Gibbs being in Bijan Robinson’s shadow in 2023.
That might be one similarity between Gibbs and Hampton, but that’s about it. At 5-11 and 221 pounds, he’d be the Thunder to Gibbs’ Lightning if they were on the same team. Despite his size, he still ran a 4.46 40-yard dash, which shows why he is so intriguing.
That athletic ability comes with absurd college numbers. Hampton starred at North Carolina, especially in the last two seasons of his three-year stint.
In his freshman season, he registered 401 rushing yards, 40 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. He exploded in 2023, tabulating 1,726 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns. Last year, he even improved those statistics to 2,033 scrimmage yards and 17 scores.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote about the rusher: “High-volume battering ram with a three-ingredient recipe of size, strength and aggression. Hampton is a linear runner lacking creativity and wiggle, but once the gas is engaged, he runs like a downhill truck whose brake lines have been cut. He has the base, balance and power to batter tacklers and reignite runs after contact but he fails to recognize alternative run lanes that offer easier paths and more yardage.”
Hampton is a no-nonsense runner. He doesn’t try to run around a defender; he wants to run through him. In Minnesota’s running back room, Mason would be a better comparison than Jones, although he offers more explosiveness than the newly acquired running back.
Hampton would be a curveball for a team that already has a running back duo in place, but adding even more firepower to a backfield could enable J.J. McCarthy to operate a run-first offense in his first year as a starter.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference CFB helped with this article.