Chargers RB Omarion Hampton was off to a solid start this season in his first two games with nearly 150 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, those games were also marred by his inability to take care of the football. Hampton committed two costly fumbles vs. Arizona and Las Vegas.
Since then, an interesting development has taken place within the Chargers' run game. Hampton's carries have gone down in two consecutive games. He had nine carries for 45 yards and a TD vs. Seattle. Mitchell had more carries than Hampton (10-9) for the first time this season. It was the first time he had fewer than 10 carries in a non-injury circumstance since 2025 Week 2 vs. the Raiders. Kimani Vidal also got consistent work in the backfield for the first time this season.
The Chargers have to keep Omarion Hampton involved in the offense given his production and their investment.
It's understandable that the gameplan can change based on the opponent every week. But the Chargers simply have invested too much in Hampton to not take more of an advantage of his power in the run game. Hampton averaged five yards per carry vs. Seattle while Mitchell averaged 3.9 on 10 attempts. Hampton's first three games were not terribly efficient relative to his output vs. Seattle—but have you seen the interior offensive line? Plenty of runs up the middle are DOA and need his tackle-breaking ability.
The Chargers have also had a rather concerning tell with Hampton on the field vs. Mitchell. Only 40.7% of Hampton's runs have gone to the outside. By contrast, Mitchell has had nearly 70% of his runs go to the outside. Vidal has had zero outside runs. On 11 runs to the right end, Mitchell has averaged 3.6 yards per carry-defenses seem to be catching onto the rushing directions within the Chargers' carry splits.
The Chargers are 25th in rush EPA currently. The room was a little bit better vs. Seattle, but they also didn't get to max out their touches considering the 21 point deficit early on in the third quarter. The Chargers will also need positive game scripts to help out what will be a very injured offensive line next week. They likely won't have Joe Alt or Rashawn Slater vs. Denver.
Los Angeles invested a first-round pick into Hampton in 2025. Him leaving a game with 11 touches total can't happen, especially in contests where he is playing well. The punishment for the fumbles I understand as well as why the team wants to get Vidal and Mitchell on the field. But Hampton needs more volume to truly get into a game offensively. Another question—where are more consistent targets/checkdowns for Hampton to mix it up?
Running back by committee is a large part of how the modern NFL operates. But that being said, it feels like the Chargers decreasing their Hampton usage in the last two weeks has been a mistake.
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