The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of the team.

Another draft is on the horizon, which means the Washington Commanders have another chance to improve their roster and get closer to competing for a championship.

The Commanders put themselves among the best teams in the league last season, going from 4-13 in 2023 to earning an appearance in the NFC Championship in head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters' first year leading the franchise. Although their season ended against the Philadelphia Eagles, they now have a clear foundation for the future with former No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels in the backfield.

Now, the Commanders are picking on the opposite end of the first round with the No. 29 overall selection. They got the most important piece last year with Daniels, but there are still several positions they need to address before the 2025 season begins.

In anticipation of that selection, Commanders.com will highlight one mock draft from a draft expert each week to delve into how that player, or players, would fit with Washington. This week, **Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice and Charles McDonald** have the Commanders taking one of the best running backs in a deep class.

Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina

For all the positions the Washington Commanders could address with the 29th pick, running back is seemingly low on the list. The group is mostly unchanged with Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler at the top of the depth chart, and it fueled the team's dominant rushing attack throughout the regular season.

But drafting for need is not general Adam Peters' style. The Commanders want to fill their roster with good players, regardless of their position, in order to be as dynamic and explosive on both sides of the ball as possible. So, even though the draft is considered deep with talented running backs, it might make sense to take one of the best on the board.

Tice and McDonald certainly think so, which is why they have the Commanders taking Hampton out of UNC.

"This might feel like a luxury pick given the Commanders' needs elsewhere, but they would have some serious horsepower on offense with the addition of Hampton," Tice and McDonald wrote. "He has been a star of the draft process coming off the backs of a dominant season running the ball for UNC."

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Hampton was so dominant that there's only a handful of players in UNC history who had better stints with the Tar Heels. He has the fourth-most career rushing yards (3,565) to go with 36 rushing touchdowns, which ranks third in program history. He has two of the school's top 10 single-season performances in all-purpose yards, including a program-best 2,033 yards last season.

Many analysts consider Hampton to be one of the best players in this year's class. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., for example, has Hampton as his 10th-best player between LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell and Michigan tight end Colston Loveland. His physical traits back up the hype; he measured at 6-foot and 221 pounds at the combine and ran a 4.46 40-yard dash with a 38-inch vertical and a 10-foot-10 broad jump.

And yet, Hampton has become a somewhat popular pick for the Commanders in mock drafts. Perhaps it's because it's rare for teams to use a first-round pick on a running back and even more infrequent for multiple teams to do so in the same draft. Or, as NBC's Connor Rogers suggested in his mock draft, there could be an early run on other positions that would push Hampton down the order.

Regardless of the reason, many analysts have Hampton sliding in the draft far enough for the Commanders to take him.

"He's extremely physical in everything he does from between the tackles running, to creating after the catch, down to pass protection," Rogers wrote of Hampton.

Fans of running backs from 30 years ago will love Hampton's style. He has some quickness that he uses to bounce to the perimeter on occasion, but most of his biggest plays come from him running straight through the middle of defenses and bowling over tacklers. He is a decisive, one-cut kind of running back, and he has enough speed to outrun anyone on the field. He ranked fifth in breakaway yards and third in runs of at least 10 yards last year.

And while this year's running back class is stacked with talented players, there are few better than Hampton at getting yards after contact. He was second in the category last year behind Ashton Jeanty and in the 97th percentile in yards after contact per attempt by Pro Football Focus. He also led the FBS in yards after contact in 2023 and forced at least 60 tackles over the last two seasons.

"Hampton is a dependable rusher who can make defenders miss in the hole," Kiper wrote. "And once he sees daylight, he's gone."

As a receiver, Hampton isn't the most explosive weapon but does have moments where his breakaway speed allows him to make plays. He was particularly potent on screen passes, where he was able to get in space, run over a defender and flip the field. He also has reliable hands with 67 catches in 2023 and 2024 combined.

The biggest concern brought up by analysts about Hampton is how his style could affect his career longevity. There aren't many running backs in the NFL who run with such a physical style and even fewer who have extended years as starting caliber players. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein suggests Hampton will have to "learn to pick and choose his battles" in order to be one of the exceptions.

But even those who bring up that criticism can't deny Hampton has a lot of what NFL teams look for in running backs. The Commanders are always on the lookout for players who can manufacture explosive plays, and Hampton has proven multiple times he is capable of that, even if it requires him to run through a few players to do so.

"Hampton paired with Jayden Daniels would give the Commanders a chance to repeat last season and cement themselves as an elite running team for years to come," Tice and McDonald wrote.