Rams selected Appalachian State DE Nick Hampton with the No. 161 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
A twitchy edge rusher who screeches his tires off the snap in a furious bid to the quarterback, Hampton (6’2/236) parlayed his 4.58s 40-yard dash speed (91st) and 1.55s 10-yard split (97th%) into a highly productive career at Appalachian State. He rolled up 27.0 TFL and 18.0 sacks while receiving First Team All-Sun Belt recognition in each of the last two campaigns. The team captain shows advanced flexibility to go with supercharged get off. His sub-standard size keeps Hampton from overpowering Group of Five tackles, so NFL-caliber linemen could be a real problem for him to stack and shed. Hampton is a plus athlete, as is proven by his 9.74 RAS, who would fit best in a 3-4 alignment where he won’t be asked to take on interior blocks.
