The Chargers' run game simply has no direction. After treating Omarion Hampton like a bell cow for the first two weeks until he coughed up a few fumbles, it's now a strange rotation of individuals. Kimani Vidal, Keaton Mitchell, and Omarion Hampton have all showed flashes both within the context of the offense and for their careers. And yet, it feels like OC Mike McDaniel is not helping any of them out. Coming out of the BYE week, each runnning back averaged less than 3.0 yards per carry vs. the Rams.
Ultimately, it's a multidimensional problem. The Chargers' run blocking has been abysmal. Considering that and the anemic passing game, it's probably difficult to kick-start any meaningful momentum in the run game. But the Chargers have also gotten in their own way when it comes to their approach to the RB room.
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh has acknowledged there's a running game problem, but will they actually fix it?
HC Jim Harbaugh was asked about potentially ending the 3 RB rotation and giving one of the backs more of a chance at gaining momentum in games:
Harbaugh suggested Chargers would rethink 3-RB rotation and potentially adjust to promote better rhythm: "Yeah, maybe. I think that's something that we're looking at, and I think we'll try that, yeah."
— Noah Furtado (@bynoahfurtado) November 3, 2026
He has shut down questions about this before. Something to monitor.
Previously, Harbaugh had shot down questions about usage and maintained that they had three really good backs. Of course, we need to see the offense lean on Hampton more to actually gauge whether the Chargers are being serious. They also might just be telling the media what they want to hear. But this is at least a different wavelength from where Harbaugh was at on the topic previously.
At the same time, McDaniel is really the head coach of the offense. Harbaugh has given him the keys and lets his coordinators run the show. So it still feels like it'll be up to McDaniel as to whether there's a heavy rotation focus or not, barring a firing.
This week vs. the Rams, the carries for Vidal, Mitchell, and Hampton were 8, 4, and 9 respectively. As a former first-round pick, Hampton had the lowest number of snaps between the three RBs. Vidal lead the way with 28-Mitchell had 19 while Hampton had 18.
Again, the rotation is not the only reason they can't run the ball. But it's factual that they were running the ball somewhat better when Hampton was the bell cow back in the first two weeks of the season. Excluding turnovers, the Chargers rush EPA dropped from 25th in Weeks 1 and 2 to 31st from Weeks 3 to 8.
There's probably no hope to fixing the run game this year. But what they're currently doing feels unfair to Hampton, Vidal, and Mitchell. It's one thing to trust all three of your running backs. It's another issue when there's not really a clear vision for how to use them. The outside zone percentage for Mitchell has been drastically higher compared to the other backs to start the season. Meanwhile, in Hampton's rather limited snaps, the defense tends to know it's a inside run play if he's on the field.
The Chargers' deficiencies in blocking and along the offensive line already give them enough problems in the run game. They can't be adding to their own issues themselves with a rotation that has proven to be meandering at best.
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