Plenty of people are optimistic about the Los Angeles Chargers’ prospects this season. A good number of people are picking them to make the playoffs once again, and the immediate future looks brighter for them than it has in many years.
A big reason for that optimism is coach Jim Harbaugh, who is entering his second year at the helm of the Chargers. Last year, he guided them to an 11-6 record and a playoff spot, even though they lacked high-level players at several key position groups.
One of those key position groups is running back, where Los Angeles is solid but nothing more than that. But they do have a rookie there by the name of Omario Hampton, and CBS Sports’ Daniel Popper made the bold prediction that the first-round pick will finish in the top five in the NFL in rushing yards.
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“The Chargers are determined to create a more consistent running game in 2025, and their most important step toward achieving that was drafting Hampton in the first round,” Popper wrote. “He is the complete package as a runner. He is physical and violent, especially at the end of the runs. He has the long speed and explosiveness to score from anywhere on the field.
“… Hampton has a chance to be a very productive workhorse. I believe offensive coordinator Greg Roman is going to feed the rookie as he tries to elevate the running game in Year 2 with the Chargers.”
Hampton played three seasons at the University of North Carolina, where he went over 1,500 rushing yards and scored 15 rushing touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. He was named to the All-ACC First team in both 2023 and 2024 and averaged 5.7 yards per rushing attempt with the Tar Heels.
At six feet tall and roughly 220 pounds, he has decent size for an NFL running back, as well as decent speed — he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds at the NFL scouting combine.
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Harbaugh has always loved to win football in the trenches and run the ball on offense. But his team was 11th in rushing touchdowns, 17th in rushing yards and 24th in yards per carry, and one has to assume that Harbaugh and Roman have made it a point to improve those numbers.
Najee Harris, L.A.’s RB1, is still recovering from a mishap on the Fourth of July that impacted his eye. Although he has returned to practice, his status for Week 1 versus the Kansas City Chiefs is up in the air, which could provide enough of an opening for Hampton to impress right away.
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