The Los Angeles Chargers established an identity as a hard-nosed rushing team with the 12th most rush attempts on the season and averaging 110.7 rushing yards per game last year. Jim Harbaugh led the franchise to an 11-6 record and a postseason appearance in his first year at the helm.
They will look to build off this in the 2025 NFL season with a new running back room. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards headlined the rushing effort last year, combining for over 1200 rushing yards. Los Angeles signed Najee Harris in free agency and drafted Omarion Hampton with the 22nd overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Harris and Hampton will headline the rushing attack this season for the Chargers. With the fantasy football draft season in full swing, this article will look at which Chargers running back is expected to see the majority of the snaps and holds the clearest pathway to fantasy relevance.
The Case for Najee Harris:
Najee Harris is entering his fifth NFL season and has suited up for all 17 games over each of the past four years with the Steelers. The former Pro Bowl running back has tallied over 1,000 yards in each of the past four years and has 28 total touchdowns in his career.
From a fantasy football perspective, Harris averaged 12.3 fantasy points per game last season. Harris put up 213.6 total fantasy points, which ranked 20th among running backs. The 27-year-old had his best fantasy football season as a rookie when he put up 312.7 total fantasy points and 18.4 points per game based on DraftKings scoring. He finished seventh in fantasy points per game and third in total fantasy points among running backs, back in 2021.
Expectations will be entirely different for Harris this year as he spends his first season outside of Pittsburgh. While Los Angeles appears to be a great fit at the time of the signing, this outlook has shifted. Spending the 22nd pick on a running back is a strong organizational commitment, and Harris also suffered an off-field fireworks injury, which clouded his outlook. He injured his eye during the Fourth of July celebration, but appears on track to be ready for Week 1.
Harris has a strong baseline for what he brings to the table, but there are some questions beyond just his change of scenery or fireworks issue. The Alabama product has tallied more carries than any other player in the NFL over the past four seasons, with 1,097 in total. He has tallied just 3.9 yards per carry across these opportunities and benefited from having a significant workload. Harris has seen plenty of volume, but has not been very efficient in these opportunities. This still resulted in a mostly positive fantasy football outlook in Pittsburgh due to the number of carries, but the Chargers will not offer the same guarantee for touches. Harris is currently posting an ADP of 131 overall, or 43rd among running backs in fantasy football drafts.
The Case for Omarion Hampton:
After no running backs were selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Omarion Hampton joined Ashton Jeanty as the second running back to crack the first round this year. Hampton spent his collegiate career at the University of North Carolina and tallied 3,164 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns over the past two seasons. He led the ACC in rushing yards both years and tallied 40 total touchdowns over his three seasons overall.
Like Harris, Hampton is mostly a straight-line runner and more of a power running back. Among FBS running backs with 100+ carries last year, Hampton ranked second in rushing yards, fifth in missed tackles forced, and 11th in yards after contact per attempt. He also tallied 38 receptions for 373 yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns last year, which is a positive sign regarding him becoming a three-down back at the NFL level.
If a team is going to draft a running back in the first round, you better believe they plan on using him. Especially with Los Angeles continuing to lean on their running game as their identity, expect there to be plenty of available carries. Currently, Hampton is being drafted with an average ADP of 37 or 14th among running backs.
The Verdict:
Jim Harbaugh has been vocal in stating that he views both Hampton and Harris as starting-caliber running backs. But there is a notable gap in the ADP between the pair of Chargers running backs, which suggests fantasy football owners are not buying this.
If all things were equal, my expectation would have been for Harris to receive the majority of the carries in the early weeks of the season before Hampton emerges as the superior talent as the year progressed. But Harris’ limited training camp and eye injury changed this equation, with Hampton stealing some valuable reps with the first team. Expect both running backs to be involved in the Chargers’ offense right from the opening week, and each to have a chance to make a fantasy football impact.
But when push comes to shove, Hampton is rightfully viewed as the preferred back. There is a level of athletic pop he possesses that Harris lacks, and the playing field has been evened due to the unique offseason. Harris has had an incredible volume of touches over the past four years, but has not been effective with these opportunities. This is the most backfield competition he has faced, and if Hampton looks to be the clear better runner, he will earn these chances.
Expect both of these Chargers running backs to have some fantasy football relevance. But the window has been opened for Omarion Hampton to earn the clear RB1 job, and expect the rookie to run right through this.
