Nick Hampton, EDGE Appalachian State: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Hampton was a two-star recruit from Westside High School in Anderson, S.C. in the class of 2018

Appalachian State outside linebacker Nick Hampton is an undersized but extremely athletic pass rusher. His acceleration, burst off the line of scrimmage, and speed are all high-end traits for pass rushers. However, he could fall outside of the top 100 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft because of his size.

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Nick Hampton, EDGE Appalachian State: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt senior outside linebacker from Anderson, S.C.

Background: Hampton was a two-star recruit from Westside High School in Anderson, S.C. in the class of 2018. He was the No. 2,387 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 2,332 (three-star) for On3.com. Hampton was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals and didn’t receive a national ranking or grade out of 100 from ESPN. He committed to Appalachian State over offers from Charleston Southern, Citadel, Elon, Georgia State, Miami (OH), Middle Tennessee State, Troy, and Wofford. In high school, he earned two All-Region I-AAAAA selections and was a two-time (Anderson) Independent-Mail All-Area selection. As a senior, he totaled 43 tackles, including ten for losses, four sacks, and a forced fumble. In 2016, he tallied 63 tackles, including 15 for loss, and seven sacks as Westside went 10-2. Hampton also competed in track and field. He was born on April 5, 2000.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed two games in 2020, missed three games with injuries in 2022

Awards: 2020 Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt (PFF), 2021 Third-Team All-Sun Belt, 2022 First-Team All-Sun Belt

Pros: Extensive special teams experience split between the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, eliminated penalties in 2022, history of forcing fumbles, explosive athlete, closing burst, motor runs hot, speed to win across a tackle’s face, speed to threaten tackle vertically, quick acceleration into contact, accelerates through the apex of his rush, dips and bends around the tackle, flattens angle to the quarterback, double-handed swipe to void the tackle’s hands, rip move, converts speed to power, pop in hands help generate separation, pursues the ball downfield, burst to chase down outside runs to the near sideline, collapses on inside runs, wingspan and range to play a role in zone coverage

Cons: Age, likely a scheme or role-specific player, lean and small build for an edge rusher, absorbed and contained by skillful linemen, struggles to break the lineman’s clamp, rush sometimes carries him too far upfield, doesn’t have a consistent power element to his rush plan, room to improve hand counters and usage, doesn’t threaten the tackle’s inside shoulder often, agility and change of direction skills at his size could be better, struggles to wrangle mobile quarterbacks, easily sealed to open rush lanes, lacks the mass to anchor the point of attack, doesn’t set a hard edge, doesn’t get off blocks quickly against the run, lacks significant experience as an off-ball stack linebacker

Overview: Hampton took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s 6022 and weighs 236 lbs. He has 9 4/8-inch hands and 33 5/8-inch arms. Hampton had an 81-inch wingspan at the Senior Bowl. He primarily lined up in a two-point stance at Appalachian State. He carries special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units to the NFL. Hampton’s six force fumbles are a testament to his long arms and wingspan, which help him reach to poke the ball out of the offensive player’s control. He’s an explosive athlete with a hot motor and elite closing burst. Hampton’s speed allows him to win across the tackle’s face and threatens tackles vertically. He flashes high-end acceleration into contact and accelerates through the apex of his rush. The former two-star recruit dips and bends around the tackle, flattening his angle to the quarterback. He uses a double-handed swipe to void the tackle’s hands and a rip move to battle to the quarterback. There are flashes of Hampton converting speed to power, but they’re inconsistent. The redshirt senior’s hands pack enough pop to generate separation. He pursues the ball downfield and has the burst to chase down outside runs to the near sideline. His wingspan and range suggest he could play a role in zone coverage. However, he lacks any significant experience as an off-ball stack linebacker. Hampton is likely a scheme or role-specific player at the next level because of his lean and small build for an edge rusher. He’s absorbed and contained by skillful linemen and struggles to break the clamps of linemen. His pass rush sometimes carries him too far upfield. He doesn’t have a consistent power element to his rush plan, which makes the need to improve his hand usage and counters even more urgent. Hampton doesn’t threaten the tackle’s inside shoulder often. He lacks high-end agility and change of direction skills for a player his size. Hampton is a liability in the run game. He’s easily sealed and lacks the mass to anchor the point of attack. The South Carolina native doesn’t set a hard edge and doesn’t get off blocks quickly against the run.

Overall, Hampton is an explosive and bendy edge rusher who threatens linemen with his arm length, acceleration, and burst around the outside. Unfortunately, the redshirt senior faces physical limitations that will pigeonhole him into a niche role early in his career. Hampton might never physically develop into a player capable of contributing on rushing downs.

Role & Scheme Fit: Designated pass rusher or outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme

Round Projection: Early Fourth to Late Fourth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 03-12-23