The Los Angeles Chargers have been ravaged by injuries this season. First, it was offensive tackle Rashawn Slater, who ruptured his patellar tendon during training camp. Then, running back Najee Harris went down with a torn Achilles tendon in Week 3. Pro Bowl right tackle Joe Alt sustained an ankle sprain that ended his season. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that rookie running back Omarion Hampton, who missed more than two months in the middle of the season with an ankle sprain of his own, is dealing with pain in the same ankle and hasn’t practiced yet this week in advance of the Chargers’ Wild Card Round game against the No. 2 New England Patriots on Sunday.
If Hampton can’t play, Los Angeles has a very solid backup option in Kimani Vidal, who actually led the team in rushing yards during the regular season. Vidal’s efficiency came and went, but all in all, he had three 100-yard rushing performances and an additional 95-yard effort, surpassing Hampton’s average of 15.4 FPTS per game four times. By Pro Football Focus’ grading standards, he didn’t grade out that much worse than Hampton (both were above-average), and he averaged only 0.16 fewer rushing yards over expectation than Hampton despite facing a stacked box more frequently. Hampton is a better receiver — Vidal only recorded more than 15 receiving yards in a game once, when he had a 60-yard catch-and-run against the Philadelphia Eagles — but Vidal can hold his own as a runner.
Vidal is a must-start to the extent that Hampton is a must-start; there isn’t that much that separates the two backs. However, expectations should be tempered for either back, given how good the Patriots’ defensive line has been this season. New England has allowed the seventh-fewest FPTS per game to opposing running backs, limiting them to the fifth-fewest rushing yards and the fourth-fewest rushing touchdowns. It has been more gettable through the air, which isn’t Vidal’s strength.
Still, there are some areas of the Patriots’ defense that Vidal can take advantage of: he more frequently runs up the left side, New England’s right-side cornerback, Christian González, is a weaker run defender than his counterpart on the left. Vidal isn’t my absolute favorite running back on the slate — the weakest remaining run defense is the Buffalo Bills’, so Travis Etienne Jr. is a better option — but he should be fantasy-viable in a bellcow role if Hampton can’t go.
