NFL Analysis
4/23/24
4 min read
Dominique Hampton 2024 NFL Draft: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Washington S
The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Dominique Hampton.
Dominique Hampton's 2024 NFL COMBINE RESULTS
- Height: 6-foot-2
- Weight: 215
- 40-yard dash: 4.51
- 10-yard dash: 1.55
- Vertical jump: 39"
- Broad jump: 10-foot-2
- Arm: 32 1/4"
Dominique Hampton 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
STRENGTHS
- Versatile safety with extensive experience playing on the back end, the slot and in the box. He has a long, athletic frame.
- Straight-line fast with excellent pursuit and closing speed. Can open up his stride and run in the open field.
- Played downhill the back end in the run game with aggression and competitiveness. Strong run support defender.
- Run game snaps in which he squared up with good balance and body control and tackled with some physicality.
- Showed plus-play speed and strong-pursuit range. He made plays with excellent pursuit, working from the inside out.
- Cut shallow crossers in man coverage concepts with excellent recognition and play speed. Quick read and react.
- Showed excellent awareness in zone coverage, reading and recognizing route concepts and hunting up crossers.
- Explosive plant and drive from back-end alignment. Click and close with burst and hitting power.
- Pass game snaps where he effectively matched up man-to-man on TEs, especially when aligned in press.
WEAKNESSES
- A little stiff and segmented in his transition and change of direction. Not a smooth, fluid mover with loose hips.
- Does not possess the needed athletic traits to play post-safety with any regularity. Stiff in his pedal and hip turn.
- Man-to-man coverage could be an issue, especially off-man where he needs to react with quick feet and loose hips.
- Tackling needs work when he drops down from the back end. Tendency to drop his head and throw his body.
NFL TRANSITION
Hampton has the look and feel of a box safety who best projects to the next level in a big-nickel personnel package where he can play closer to the line of scrimmage. He has outstanding size and length, and he played with a physical, competitive component to his game. He consistently struggled in man and zone coverage on the back end, where his lack of transition fluidity and smooth change of direction continually showed up.
Hampton's consistent commitment to defending the run stood out. He has an aggressive mentality when aligned closer to the LOS and when he comes down from the back end. While his tackling technique needs to be cleaned up, there is no question he filled the alley with purpose.
Overall, Hampton is a big, physical safety with outstanding length and higher-level athletic traits. His size/speed/athletic profile is among the best of the safeties in the 2024 draft class. While Hampton does not project as a true post safety, he can play in quarters-structure defenses and run the alley in the run game with toughness and competitiveness.
Hampton showed he could match up with TEs in man coverage, and he played with good route awareness in zone coverage. He could be team and scheme-specific, but he will play in the NFL with a chance to start once he gains experience in the right scheme.
OTHER NOTES
Hampton started his final two seasons at Washington (26 starts). He did not become a full-time starter until his fifth year, but he finished college with an outstanding 2023 season, leading Washington in tackles.
Hampton was predominantly Washington's strong safety, lining up to the boundary side of the field (not the passing strength). He also played significant snaps at back-end safety in single-high and two-high shells. There were man-to-man snaps in which he matched with TEs. Hampton was alignment versatile in the Washington defense with significant snaps on the back end, the slot and the box.
In crunch time in the fourth quarter vs. Texas in the national semi-final game, Hampton matched up man-to-man vs. TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, both when Sanders was attached and detached from the formation.
