The Los Angeles Rams are being aggressive in their pursuit of pass rushers in the draft. At No. 161 overall in the fifth round, they selected Appalachian State outside linebacker Nick Hampton.
Hampton was given a fourth-round grade by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, so the Rams are getting a good value in the fifth round. Like Byron Young, the Rams’ third-round pick, Hampton is slightly undersized at just 6-foot-2 and 236 pounds. But he has nearly 34-inch arms, so length isn’t much of an issue despite him being on the shorter side.
He played five years at Appalachian State, totaling 26.5 sacks and 40 tackles for a loss. He also forced six fumbles, recovered three and broke up four passes during his career.
Hampton isn’t a rare athlete but he does have good speed after running a 4.58 in the 40-yard dash with a 1.65-second 10-yard split. He also jumped 35.5 inches in the vertical, which was the seventh-best at his position.
