Running the football is supposed to be the Chicago Bears’ bread and butter—at least, it has been for the past two years under Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus. However, the team has gotten off to a dismal start on the ground this season. Part of that is inadequate blocking up front. The offensive line isn’t creating adequate lanes often enough. However, this has also exposed an uncomfortable reality for the team. They don’t seem to have a running back who is capable of creating things on his own.
D’Andre Swift is electric in the open field, but his ability to shake off tacklers has proven to be subpar for most of this season. Khalil Herbert is a great slasher but not as effective without lanes to run through. Roschon Johnson is strong enough to break tackles but lacks the explosiveness to make defenses pay once free. This might explain why Bears representatives are popping up at games featuring prominent running backs lately. North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton seems to have their attention at the moment.
Ryan Poles has a type, and Hampton fits it.
We’ve seen that the Bears GM prefers good size and versatility. He also likes players who display a certain degree of violence. Hampton checks those boxes. He’s 5’11 and 219 lbs. His power and contact balance allow him to run through arm tackles with ease. Once through the first wave, he has the speed to hit the home run. An important note with him is he does most of his rushing from shotgun, something the Bears haven’t had a lot of success with this season despite it being a core part of their scheme under Shane Waldron.
Hampton ranks third in the country with 658 rushing yards. He also had 13 catches for 107 yards. Projections have him going on Day 2 of the 2025 draft. Ryan Poles has three picks in that range, including two 2nd rounders. It would be the perfect place to grab a prominent running back. Herbert is a free agent next year, as is Travis Homer. If Ryan Poles isn’t confident in the tandem of Swift and Johnson, then drafting Hampton to fortify the Bears backfield makes plenty of sense.
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Any talk of who to draft, or what positions to draft, is premature. We don’t know who will be on the board when the Bears picks come up, or what their needs will be at the end of the season. It’s possible that Teven will shine the rest of the season, flipping the switch and staying healthy, and Bates could turn into a top 10 center, in which case OL is still a need, but less of one. Might as well discuss who the Bears will have as their long snapper in 2029.
I don’t think are OT’s are going anywhere next season, I think they both start and they drafted Kiran to develop. There’s a reason Poles traded for Bates, when healthy I feel he starts in the interior. Between FA and the draft, I’d like to see the other interior spots filled, for arguments sake let’s say Trey Smith gets the bag from us to have a high-end veteran presence and we draft a high upside rookie in the first or second round. Nate Davis isn’t long for this team come the off-season, and I currently don’t see Jenkins getting a… Read more »
I am sure that selecting RB Hampton and other skilled players in the upper draft rounds would be nice and fun. Then you invite the OL men as hogs to the picnic in rounds 5, 6, 7, and sign UDFAs and FAs to come up with 10-strong. Problem: that has not worked for OL expert Poles. So Hampton would be considered a luxury selection as might another WR taken early in the draft. And you probably continue having a porous under-achieving OL.
Build the trenches Poles.
2025 Draft: 1st DE, 2nd DT, 2nd G, 3rd C, 4th S.