RELATED: See all of our 2026 Player Spotlights here
This Year's Breakout Running Back
Omarion Hampton finished as the RB35 in total points and the RB13 in points per game in 2025. Yet, in early 2026 fantasy football drafts, Hampton is coming off the board as the RB10—and it’s still not high enough.
To understand why he's a massive value, we have to look at the absolute trainwreck that was the 2025 Los Angeles Chargers season.
The 2025 Disaster: "Not Great, Bob!"
Everything that could go wrong for the Chargers' offense did go wrong last year. Pete Campbell from Mad Men would have a field day describing this medical report:
- LT Rashawn Slater: Suffered a season-ending injury before taking a meaningful snap.
- RT Joe Alt: Lost for the year after undergoing ankle surgery in Week 9.
- The Interior O-Line: Functioned as one of, if not the, worst units in the NFL.
- QB Justin Herbert: Gutted out the end of the season playing through a broken left hand.
- RB Omarion Hampton: Fractured his ankle, missed nearly two months, and was rushed back for the final three weeks.
Fortunately, the stars are aligning for Hampton to emerge as a genuine league winner this year:
- Offensive Line Improvement: Healthy tackles and a rebuilt interior
- Better Play-Calling: Mike McDaniel will bring innovation and explosiveness
- Limited Competition: Hampton stands little chance of losing touches if he's healthy
- Innate Talent: His college tape speaks to a back capable of playing on any down and distance
Offensive Line Improvements
The Chargers were on a lot of top-ten offensive line lists for 2025, but those were made without the expectation that both Alt and Slater would miss significant amounts of time. The interior of their line was a hodgepodge of hopes and fairy dust, and it just never came together. They finished dead last in PFF run-blocking grade and dead last in win rate among NFL lines, and Herbert was sacked 60 times. Now, the Chargers can pencil in both of their Pro Bowl tackles alongside three new faces on the interior.
Tyler Biadasz is in for Bradley Bozeman. Biadasz has been at least a serviceable starter for two different franchises and can act as the veteran directing pass protection on the inside. Jake Slaughter is in for Zion Johnson, which is a drastic change. Johnson was known for his aggression and mauling tendencies, but his overextension often resulted in missed assignments. Slaughter lacks some of that finishing potential, but his fundamentals and reaction time will keep him in the right position, and he won't blow a play while playing alongside a rockstar left tackle. Cole Strange (yes, the Chattanooga legend Cole Strange) is in for Mekhi Becton. If either Strange or Slaughter doesn't work out, they also brought in strong competition in Kayode Awosika from Detroit, and they still have Trevor Penning as a "break glass in case of emergency" option. Bottom line, they've added enough depth and have enough returning talent to ensure a baseline of competency in 2026.
Our offensive line specialist, Matt Bitonti, has the Chargers' offensive line ranked 21st heading into 2026, with room to grow as the three new interior faces gel. He highlights that these three new starters will take about a month to become a cohesive unit, but on talent alone, they're likely in the top half of the league. Going from last year's absolute disaster to even middle-of-the-pack will be a huge jump, and the new offensive coordinator knows how to get plenty out of his offense, even if the offensive line doesn't quite live up to expectations.