Bear Digest

Ashton Jeanty Bears alternatives: Omarion Hampton and a sleeper back

If Ashton Jeanty isn't there for the Bears, one NFL analyst sees Omarion Hampton every bit as special but suggests a later-round sleeper for teams to consider..

Gene Chamberlain

Miami's running back Damien Martinez, who played two years at Oregon State, is a sleeper worth taking says one NFL draft analyst.
Miami's running back Damien Martinez, who played two years at Oregon State, is a sleeper worth taking says one NFL draft analyst. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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While there is great national focus on running back Ashton Jeanty and this includes Bears fans, the running back crop this year is judged by many analysts as so deep that starters can be found into the late rounds.

The nephew of broadcasting great Howard Cosell, Greg Cosell, an NFL analyst and producer for NFL Films, has scrutinized the backs in this crop. Like everyone else, he calls Jeanty special but sees the potential for another back to be an option for a team drafting early like the Bears at No. 10.

Cosell warns against thinking about North Carolina's Omarion Hampton as inferior to Jeanty or second-round material because one quality in his game makes him special in a different way. Speaking on the Ross Tucker podcast, Cosell also pinpoints a later-round back who would be a great catch for teams but isn't being talked about much.

Because the Bears are choosing 10th, it's very possible Jeanty would be gone to the Raiders or the Saints or possibly even some team moving up in the draft through trade. Dallas would be one most often mentioned.

Hampton would be worth taking in that range of the draft, Cosell said, because of a physical presence.

"Hampton has sort of a bigger presence when you watch him run, and you just see it when he runs," Cosell told Tucker. "To me, Hampton is a tempo-setter for an offense, that if you want to control the pace and tempo of games, he's got a foundation-backed mentality."

It's the ability of the 6-foot, 220-pound Tar Heels back to finish runs that really impresses Cosell as much as his burst for big runs after holes open.

The physical aspect is critical. It's here where Cosell points out the ideal NFL back should be able to turn plays designed for 3-yard runs into 6-yard runs.

The highlight reels are nice but represent only a small portion of a back's portfolio and the tough runs need to be considered. In this way, Hampton becomes a real option for teams in the middle of Round 1 if not even earlier.

"I watched this guy and I just say that's an NFL back," he told Tucker.

In his spot on Tucker's podcast, Cosell runs through an analysis of several highly rated backs, including the Ohio State duo and Cam Skattebo from Arizona State.

One back he found who few talk a lot about is Damien Martinez from Miami, who is 5-11, 217 pounds and played two seasons at Oregon State before going to Miami.

He averaged 6.2 yards a carry for three seasons, never averaged less than 6.0, and scored 26 touchdowns on 514 carries.

It's true the 5-11, 217-pounder didn't test at the combine quite as well a many of the other backs who were throwing down 40 times in the 4.4s, but he wasn't bad with a 4.51-second 40 and 10-foot-4 broad jump.

Martinez definitely fits the bill of draft sleeper as the NFL Mock Draft Data Base has consistently had him going in the fifth or six rounds, and never higher than 139th overall. He's currently ranked a 166th overall on the website's collection of almost 1,000 posted mock drafts.

Martinez displayed versatility, running effectively both as an I-back at Oregon State and a shotgun back with the Hurricanes. On film, he looks like a faster version of David Montgomery.

"He's got quickness, he's got decisiveness, he's got short-area burst, he's got natural talent," Cosell told Tucker. "I think power is a really, really important trait."

Because one back is judged highly doesn't mean another back should be lower, Cosell points out. System fit always matters.

"Who thought coming out of Notre Dame that (Rams back) Kyren Williams would be a feature back, and Kyren Williams had 316 rushes this year and didn't even play in the last game f he season," Cosell said.

The Bears can use some of the power he spoke about, whether it comes in the form of a back who blasts away like Hampton or Martinez, or it's one who bounces off tackles the way Jeanty does.

Cosell also has interesting things to say about Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.