For the 1st time in 10 years, the Los Angeles Chargers have selected a running back in the 1st round of the draft. That pick was Omarion Hampton, 2x All-American out of North Carolina. This follows a recent trend of bringing young talent into the Chargers’ skill positions while moving on from more senior players. Last season they used their 2nd round pick to get break-out performer Lad McConkey, while their 1st round selection from 2 years ago was Quentin Johnston, both in the wide receiver position.
This is the culmination of Jim Harbaugh’s directive to rebuild the Charger offense around star quarterback Justin Herbert. Omarion Hampton is likely intended to be a key piece in the offensive scheme adding versatility to the backfield.
Prior to last season elite receiving back Austin Ekeler was released in favor of J.K. Dobbins from the Ravens. This provided a solid running game, of which one of the benefits was the ability to expand the use of play-action passing. Dobbins’ gravity allowed the offense to increase its play-action passing from 80 such plays in 2023 to 143 in 2025 (78% increase), while the yardage gained from those plays grew by 177% (from 517 yards to 1,431).
So What Does It Mean For Omarion Hampton?
As impressive as Dobbins was coming out of the backfield, he didn’t offer much toward the passing game. He averaged 2.5 receptions and less than 12 receiving yards per game, while accumulating 0 touchdowns through the air. This impacted the Chargers’ passing attack, causing it to drop from 3rd in attempts in 2023 down to 28th in 2024.
Of note, Najee Harris was added to the roster in the off-season on a one-year deal. He’s a name-brand running back that L.A. may feel compelled to give snaps to. His downhill running style can make a difference in short-yardage situations, but he’s light on vision and versatility. With that in mind, it seems he is meant to provide options and depth in light of J.K. Dobbins’ history of injuries, but beyond that his value as a pass-catcher is sub-par, which is where I believe their offense is headed.
Enter Omarion Hampton… In his final college season, Hampton averaged more than 3 receptions per game with 9.8 yards per reception. That means he nearly matched Dobbins’ per-game receiving output in a single catch, with a per-game total that outstrips both J.K. and Najee combined. Moreover, Omarion Hampton ended the season with 2 receiving touchdowns in 12 games, also out-pacing J.K. and Najee together. That’s the kind of passing game production Harbaugh is looking to build on.
Another complicating factor with the Charger’s backfield is that Gus Edwards has one more year on his 2-year contract, in what’s going to be his aged-30 season. I anticipate Omarion Hampton will pick up the lion’s share of his snaps and ultimately be the RB2. That’s even with consideration to Najee Harris being in the mix. As I said, his role is most likely to compete with or back up Dobbins in the bulk ground game, providing some load balancing and rest. For my money it’ll be the former Tar Heel stepping… or running… into a situation that will leverage his skills with both his legs and pass-catching.
PPR Projections
Modeling Omarian Hampton’s production from his senior year at UNC with the Chargers’ usage of Ekeler in the past allows me to project Hampton’s weekly Fantasy estimate.
The small sample size, overall running back committee, and assumptions about the offensive scheme (and Omarion Hampton’s role in it) create a lot of noise in the extrapolation of these numbers. Consider this an optimistic view of his overall upside at 16.3 (with a 0.15 confidence interval). This looks to be significant value on par or even better than J.K. Dobbins’ average from last season which was about 15.5 PPR per week.
So What Do You Do With This?
The estimates I’ve made above places the Charger’s rookie as a fringe RB2. He would be a creative selection for your Fantasy team with a pretty good risk-to-reward ratio. He would most certainly be a strong pick for an RB3 who can carry you through the bye-weeks, give you options at the flex position, and serve as a wild card that could blow up depending on circumstances in LA.
In the end, this is a draft pick that is in line with the Chargers’ rebuilding agenda. It looks to expand the team’s play-calling options and will support Justin Herbert’s target selection. Omarion Hampton will fit in quickly and could start adding value right away. He is strong in the rushing game, but his potential in the passing attack is what makes him such an enticing Fantasy Football draft prospect… says me 😉
