For most of the offseason, the storyline in the LA Chargers running back room was whether or not Najee Harris would play in Week 1.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh officially put those concerns to bed at Wednesday's media availability when he announced that Harris would play vs. the Chiefs. At the same time, Harbaugh would not commit to just how much the former Steelers RB would play. He said it would be "tough to predict".
Harris was listed as a full participant in practice twice this week already per the Chargers' injury report. At the end of last week, he was fully cleared for contact.
It appears Omarion Hampton will start over Najee Harris for the Chargers
It's tough to project exactly what the carry split between Hampton and Harris will be on Friday night in São Paulo. But per NFL Network and ESPN's Rich Eisen, Harbaugh has already made a crucial call on who the starter at running back will be for the game.
Rich Eisen says that Jim Harbaugh told him in a pre-broadcast meeting that Chargers RB Omarion Hampton will be the starting running back over Najee Harris on Friday.
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) September 4, 2025
Via "The Rich Eisen Show" pic.twitter.com/xrLav4JxiT
The report that Hampton will be the starter doesn't come as a surprise. He was working with the first team offense for all of training camp while Harris was on the NFI list with an eye injury. While Harris will play, it also makes sense for the Chargers to get him back up to full speed slowly. Keep in mind that Harris didn't practice for over a month in camp before rejoining the 53-man roster for Week 0 practices.
As Eisen mentioned on his show, this will be the first time in his 71-game career (including playoffs) that Harris does not start.
Questions about the exact ratio of carries will still linger going into the game. Would Hampton be a starter in a 60/40 carry split with Harris? Is it possibly closer to 80/20 given that Harris still getting back up to speed?
The Chargers also still have key special teams player and blocker Hassan Haskins on the 53-man roster. After a quality preseason performance from Haskins to retain his roster spot, he'll probably be in line for at least a few carries.
The first test for Hampton as a rookie RB will be Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo's defensive front. Kansas City had a statistical top 10 rushing defense last season. We'll see how the Chargers' backfield fares when they square off against the Chiefs on Friday.