Roundtable: Early Dynasty Panic

Spala, Blaylock, Kashuba, Song, and Bell identify four players causing early-season panic.

Jeff Bell's Roundtable: Early Dynasty Panic Jeff Bell Published 09/17/2026

tag:reuters.com,2026:newsml_MT1USATODAY29816457:254225668 Dynasty

Question of the Week

Coming out of Week 1, what player gave you the most panic and the largest shift in their long-term dynasty outlook?

RB Omarion Hampton, LA Chargers

Song - The Chargers' offense looked incompetent across the board in Week 1. Some of it may be fixable. Perhaps Justin Herbert can get it together once he steps back from wedding planning with Madison Beer and watches more film. However, it's questionable whether Hampton's fantasy output will come anywhere close to preseason expectations.

For one, Los Angeles' interior offensive line looked lost against a middling Arizona defense. The great John Madden once said, "If you have two quarterbacks, you actually have none." That statement could also apply to left guards. Kayode Awosika and Trey Pipkins III split snaps in Week 1, and neither played well. And maybe rookie center Jake Slaughter can develop, but it's a big ask for him to step immediately into Pro Bowler Tyler Biadasz's shoes following his ACL tear. This mess up front led to Hampton totaling just 43 rushing yards against the Cardinals despite having 49 yards after contact...yes, you read that correctly.

On top of the inefficient ground game, it should be deeply concerning (although not entirely unexpected given Mike McDaniel's preseason comments) that Hampton logged a 57% share against Arizona while Keaton Mitchell took 31% of the snaps. In a committee backfield lacking receiving usage, Hampton could look less like Ashton Jeanty in fantasy and more like Ken Walker III, but not in a good way. By that, I mean that 2026 Hampton could look like 2025 Walker, splitting snaps with Zach Charbonnet en route to an RB29 finish in PPR PPG.

Kashuba - I'm terrified of the Los Angeles Chargers. After an offseason of hype, healthy tackles, and a fancy new offensive coordinator, I was all the way in. Life comes at you fast. The run game looked anemic, the pass protection was either miscommunicated or poorly executed, and the offense was embarrassed by an expected bottom-feeder in the Arizona Cardinals. The team had only 21 rush attempts (due to the game script), but Omarion Hampton and Keaton Mitchell combined for just over three yards per carry, which isn't going to cut it. I'm extremely concerned about what another bad week will do to Hampton and Herbert's prices as top-tier dynasty assets. I'll be trying to buy low, but I'm worried I'm just stepping on the Chargers' rake for the third year in a row.

RB Nicholas Singleton, Tennessee

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