Welcome to Week 2 of the 2026 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Week 1 Thrills and Horrors
- Biggest Quarterback Outliers
- Biggest Wide Receiver Outliers
- De'Von Achane and Omarion Hampton
Let's roll...
Matt Waldman: If you have one of these backs, how do you manage your roster in light of what you saw in Week 1? If you don't have them, how do you manage your roster with them in mind? Are you acquiring them?
Jason Wood: This creates an interesting dichotomy, as I held diametrically opposed views on both running backs heading into the season. I was well below consensus on De'Von Achane, detailing my skepticism in a Player Spotlight article, and nothing from Week 1 derailed that pessimism. While he should see enough volume as the offense's lone difference-maker to cobble together a fringe top-15 campaign, anyone relying on him as an anchor will likely end up frustrated.
On the other hand, I was quite bullish on Omarion Hampton, slotting him into my top eight at the position. Week 1, however, proved wildly disappointing for the Chargers, who were handily beaten by a Cardinals squad widely expected to sit near the bottom of the league. Hampton’s debut wasn't pretty—averaging just 3.6 yards per carry while losing a fumble—but Los Angeles is capable of far more than it showed.
More importantly, his primary workload and goal-line duties remain secure. I'm sitting tight on Hampton and keeping him locked into my starting lineup; my general rule of thumb for projected starters is to gather three weeks of data and triangulate the results.
Ryan Weisse: I have plenty of both, and I am in full panic mode, but reasonably. Let me explain. I am not in a spot to bench, and nobody is buying them in a trade, so I have to start them every week.
I am not going to sell cheap. I recognize there is still upside. I am not going to bench them.
Most of my bench spots are filled with Jonathon Brooks and MarShawn Lloyd, and it's not like they are better. So I will keep starting them and hope things get better. They are both young, healthy, and talented. I just need to temper my expectations and be willing to move them after a good week.
Andy Hicks: If I had them, I'd handle both with patience. Both were high draft picks and remain the centerpieces of their teams' offenses. With new schemes, expect some growing pains and time for units to gel. Achane and Hampton are too important to their teams' success. While expectations differ greatly between Miami and the Chargers, I wouldn’t be looking to trade either, unless there was a knockout offer on the table.
If I don’t have them on my roster, I am not as worried. I would consider making an offer if the manager was the desperate type and I had depth at running back or elsewhere. Because the manager likely invested a premium pick on either player, roster depth was likely deprioritized. Both guys need to improve, but we require a few more weeks of data to make a final assessment. For now, if a trade benefits your team, you have to explore it.
Sean Settle: If I had one of these backs, I am holding and hoping rather than panicking. Achane and Hampton were drafted for the touches they are supposed to see over a full season, not for one Sunday against a good defensive front, and I have not seen anything that changes the long-term plan for either offense. I would not bench either player, and I would not entertain a trade unless the return was well above what the current disappointment suggests they are worth.
If I do not have either back, I am watching for managers who will offer one of these two after a rough Sunday because they cannot stomach the week-to-week variance. Hampton's twelve carries for 43 yards on a Chargers offense that could not get untracked is a poor sample, not a verdict, and the same goes for whatever limited workload Achane saw behind a Miami offensive line that is still figuring itself out. I would rather buy a talented back at a discount than chase a hot waiver wire name, and I think both players finish the season as trusted starters.
Darin Tietgen: If I am an Achane or Hampton GM, I'm not too worried. It's Week 2, and both running backs will be highly involved in both the run and pass game for their respective offenses. I won't make any rash decisions.
On the flip side, if I'm looking to add one of these backs from a panicking owner, I'd definitely give it a shot. Both backs will be RB1s by season's end.
Phil Alexander: If I had Achane or Hampton, I imagine I'd have to manage my roster from last place. I'm not nearly as bullish as Darin on either player's rest-of-season prospects.
Every preseason concern about Achane showed up against the Raiders. He's historically at his best attacking the perimeter on outside zone and stretch concepts. Under Bobby Slowik, Miami shifted to more inside zone and gap concepts...in a negative game script...against stacked boxes...while the offensive line was getting zero push.
The bigger problem was Miami's overall lack of plays. Despite trailing throughout, the Dolphins ran only 50, with just 2 percent coming out of no huddle. Achane still handled 94 percent of the backfield touches and posted an 84 percent route participation rate, yet finished with only 11 carries and 4 catches because the offense can't create enough opportunities.
Achane's name should still carry weight in trade talks before the rest of your league catches on to how dysfunctional Miami is. I would take Breece Hall or Javonte Williams for him in a trade without thinking twice.
I'm more hopeful the Chargers' new offense comes together over the next few weeks, but Hampton's Week 1 usage bothered me more than LA's surprising struggles against Arizona.
Darin mentioned Hampton's passing-game involvement as a positive, but he ran one fewer route than Keaton Mitchell, and no Chargers running back was targeted. Coming off a bad game after an injury-plagued rookie season, Hampton's trade value is probably near its floor.
Hold him and hope he rebounds against the Raiders. If he does, I'd see whether anyone in your league still views him as a second-round pick. The Chargers don't face another soft defense until Week 11.
Jeff Blaylock: I gladly let other managers have these two talented running backs who aren't likely to pay off their high draft capital. Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley said he wanted Achane to have 40 touches a game, but he managed only 15 against the Raiders on Sunday. That was more than Hampton accumulated in a poor offensive showing against lowly Arizona.
I agree with Ryan that if you have them, you're going to have to ride them. You can't bench either one. You probably won't be able to trade either one except perhaps after a boom week or two. Those boom weeks will come, but you'll have to tolerate the more frequent disappointing weeks.
Waldman: As always, thanks for reading.
Check out the links below for all of this week's roundtable topics:
- Week 1 Thrills and Horrors
- Biggest Quarterback Outliers
- Biggest Wide Receiver Outliers
- De'Von Achane and Omarion Hampton
Good luck!
