The Los Angeles Chargers host the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football to close out Week 14. As the Bolts continue to push for the playoffs, they are expecting QB Justin Herbert to play just a week after suffering a hand injury, and they could also get promising rookie running back Omarion Hampton back from his extended time on the IR.
If Hampton does return, will he take back over as the No. 1 RB, or will Kimani Vidal still be a viable fantasy football option?
Let’s take a look at the latest on Hampton’s status and what to expect on Monday if both backs are available.
Omarion Hampton Injury Update
Hampton sustained a fractured ankle back in Week 5 against the Commanders while getting tangled up while running a route out of the backfield. He was placed on IR and missed practices until last week, when he got back on the field in a limited fashion. He has been limited again this week, but seems to be trending in the right direction.
Since the Chargers don’t play until Monday, we won’t have an official status until Saturday, but he looks like he could be questionable but on track to play, or avoid an injury designation completely.
Destined for a Dreaded Timeshare?
The Chargers were expected to have a timeshare with Hampton and veteran running back Najee Harris coming into the season, since coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman typically like to rotate backs and lean into running the ball and dominating the time of possession.
With Harris injured in Week 3 and out for the year, Hampton had one full week as the true workhorse back, and he went off for 30.5 fantasy points. The previous week, the rookie showed out with 24.9 fantasy points in the team’s win with Harris sidelined.
He looked destined for fantasy football stardom, but his ankle had other plans.
While he was out, Kimani Vidal was signed to the active roster and grew into the starting role. He had 25.8 fantasy points in Week 6, the week after Hampton went down, and has topped 22 fantasy points three times this season. He has had some down games as well, but has averaged 14.8 fantasy points per game overall.
Vidal has not been very involved as a receiver, but he has broken out for some big gains like last week against the Raiders:
Both Backs Bring Upside
Since both running backs have big-play potential and the offense has been productive overall, the team will try to blend the two together into a timeshare. When Roman was asked about the workload, the coordinator stated that he plans to use both Hampton and Vidal in a “1-2 punch” shared backfield.
Roman also described Hampton’s injury as “easily corrected, easily fixed,” and not an issue that would compromise the rookie’s future performance or running style.
For his part, Hampton also seems to welcome the idea of rotating:
Especially in Hampton’s first game back, look for a pretty even timeshare, although over time, Hampton should work his way back to seeing the majority of the workload. It doesn’t look like either back will totally control the backfield, though, unless one of them goes down with an injury.
The Bottom Line
Both backs have high upside but are limited by the presence of the other option. They’re both on flex radars for this week against the Eagles if Hampton is activated and ready to return. Hampton could work his way back to an RB2 or RB1 if he claims most of the work, and Vidal would be a strong RB2 if Hampton needs more time before being activated.
Since it’s a Monday night matchup, the two backs are part of the showdown slate for one-week DraftKings contests like the NFL Showdown $1.25M Monday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (PHI @ LAC).
Hampton has a FLEX salary of $7,800, and Vidal has a salary of $7,400. At least for the first week, I’d lean towards Vidal as the slightly better play of the two since Hampton will likely be in a limited role. Both will be high-risk, touchdown-dependent plays in showdown lineups since neither one will likely get the full workload.
