It’s Getting Hard to Ignore Chargers’ Omarion Hampton After Hall of Fame Comparison

Chargers RB Omarion Hampton has a lot of good going for him this offseason before a possible breakout.

Omarion Hampton | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Good luck ignoring the hype around Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton. 

Hampton was an exciting first-round pick by the Chargers one year ago. Even with veteran running backs on board to help split the load, his talent and ability to work in a Justin Herbert offense made for some big projections. 

One year later, behind an improved offensive line and having upgraded at coordinator from Greg Roman to Mike McDaniel, the hype has hit even bigger waves. 

Said hype, it seems, includes a comparison to a Hall of Famer. 

Omarion Hampton’s HOF comparison and big projections 

Omarion Hampton | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As a rookie, Hampton battled some injuries, a bad interior offensive line and an archaic offense, never mind veterans like Najee Harris taking some of his reps. 

And yet, the North Carolina product finished with 545 yards and four scores on a 4.4 average over nine games, catching 32 passes, too. 

The upside was there. 

Speaking with reporters at Chargers minicamp, head coach Jim Harbaugh revealed that Hampton reminds him a little bit of Terrell Davis. 

That’s Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis, by the way, another member of the AFC West in Denver who won an MVP award, multiple Super Bowls and ran for 7,607 yards and 60 scores on a 4.6 average from just 1995-2001. 

On a little more mild of a note, there’s a reason Hampton is the breakout pick for the Chargers from Sports Illustrated’s Eva Geitheim.

“The Chargers’ offensive line was disastrous in 2025 due to injuries and personnel, and ranked 31st in run block win rate," Geitheim wrote. “With an improved offensive line and Mike McDaniel bringing his creative run scheme to Los Angeles, Hampton is in a much better position to succeed during his sophomore campaign.”

Chargers offensive line upgrades include Tyler Biadasz at center, Cole Strange at one guard spot and, presumably, rookie Jake Slaughter at the other. Hampton, by the way, didn’t have elite offensive tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater for very often or at all last year, either.

Don’t forget the hype around McDaniel. If his modern attack is getting the ball out faster than ever and doing a good job of disguising things, Hampton’s bound to benefit in all areas. 

One more thing? Hampton isn’t training all offseason for the draft process this time and attempting to adapt to the pros. He’s just training for what should be, by all accounts, a major breakout season. 

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