{"id":981889,"date":"2026-08-24T12:24:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T12:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/981889\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T12:24:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T12:24:29","slug":"why-chargers-omarion-hampton-is-primed-for-a-breakout-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/981889\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Chargers’ Omarion Hampton is primed for a breakout season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chargers<\/a> running back Omarion Hampton<\/a> is a serious breakout candidate entering his second season in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say he has, from the first day that we\u2019ve gotten on the field \u2026 had as much, if not the most, growth as any player,\u201d offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel<\/a> said earlier in training camp. \u201cAnd that\u2019s because \u2026 this guy\u2019s completely obsessed and focused. His tracks and the urgency in which we\u2019re trying to get him to start the play has been phenomenal.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody wants to tackle that guy. That is a massive human moving very fast. The less we can get him to stop his feet and do what we call \u2018slash\u2019 and pick edges of defenders and shoulder-punch them, the better. I\u2019m very confident, and it\u2019s very exciting, what he\u2019s doing each and every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hampton, the No. 22 overall pick in the 2025 draft<\/a>, flashed his skills as a rookie. The 6-foot, 220-pound North Carolina product gained 737 yards from scrimmage and had five touchdowns in 156 touches \u2014 124 rushes and 32 receptions.<\/p>\n

Hampton would\u2019ve done more if not for deflating injuries that limited him to 10 games. He fractured his left ankle in a Week 5 loss to the Washington Commanders and injured his other ankle in a Week 17 loss to the Houston Texans.<\/p>\n

The past is the past, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking forward to next season, putting everything I can into treatment, everything I can to get back to 110%,\u201d Hampton said of his offseason regimen. \u201cI feel like I did that well. Couldn\u2019t be more excited for next season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entering the final week of preseason play, Hampton has looked better than ever.<\/p>\n

His speed and agility remain electric despite the ankle injuries. The hands are still reliable. And, maybe most importantly, picking up the playbook hasn\u2019t been a problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the running backs, really, I feel like it\u2019s going to benefit us a lot,\u201d Hampton said of the offense. \u201cWe know [McDaniel] loves to run the ball, so we couldn\u2019t be more excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chargers <\/p>\n

Chargers running back Omarion Hampton gained 737 yards from scrimmage last season and scored five touchdowns in 10 games, missing seven because of injuries to both ankles.<\/p>\n

(Gregory Bull \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Added head coach Jim Harbaugh<\/a>: \u201cMan of few words. [Hampton\u2019s] got places to be and things to do. When I do have a conversation with him, I see a smile. And when I watch the tape, I smile. I think [McDaniel\u2019s offense] fits him great. \u2026 Big year for Omarion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where Hampton has really stood out, though, is with his ability \u2014 in the words of the iconic Marshawn Lynch \u2014 to run through faces.<\/p>\n

\u201c[McDaniel\u2019s] just saying, if I run full speed, it\u2019s going to be hard for [defenders] to tackle me,\u201d Hampton said.<\/p>\n

Although Hampton, a certified starter, only played in the Chargers\u2019 opening series in Thursday\u2019s preseason loss to San Francisco<\/a>, he made waves in the two teams\u2019 joint practice on Tuesday by bulldozing several 49ers defenders.<\/p>\n

Hampton arguably made the play of the day when putting 49ers safety Ji\u2019Ayir Brown on his back during a big run.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s incredibly tough,\u201d Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert<\/a> said of Hampton after that joint practice. \u201cHe leads by example. He doesn\u2019t say much, but what he does on the field is so loud, and guys respect him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so cool to hand him the ball and see what he\u2019s able to do because he\u2019s an incredible athlete and an incredible competitor. I\u2019m glad he\u2019s on my side of the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chargers\u2019 running back corps, led by Hampton, also features trustworthy options in veterans Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal.<\/p>\n

Although McDaniel\u2019s offenses usually feature eye-popping aerial attacks, he also loves to run the ball. The trio of running backs should see plenty of carries, particularly with opportunities for big-chunk gains.<\/p>\n

\u201cTop to bottom, guys are legit,\u201d Vidal said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s here for a reason. \u2026 Everyone knows about Omarion and Keaton. I think all guys can contribute at some point during the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDaniel teased reporters when asked about Hampton\u2019s expected usage, apologizing to fantasy owners for his inability to declare the running back the bell cow because of their other options he has to work with.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake, though, Hampton\u2019s the guy.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be a critical part of the Chargers\u2019 offense and a major factor in determining whether the franchise can get over the playoff hump.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of small things that go into it,\u201d Hampton said. \u201cBut I feel like the more you do it, the more you get comfortable with it. I feel like now, I\u2019m at a more comfortable place with it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chargers running back Omarion Hampton is a serious breakout candidate entering his second season in Los Angeles. \u201cI…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":981890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[6827,8346,241,129029,29398,7,3287,50889,1014,262,2444,2443,1911,4787,14747,6,1551,288,2846,3007,1549],"class_list":["post-981889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-chargers","tag-ball","tag-breakout-season","tag-chargers","tag-few-word","tag-first-day","tag-football","tag-guy","tag-joint-practice","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleschargers","tag-loss","tag-mcdaniel","tag-next-season","tag-nfl","tag-offense","tag-omarion-hampton","tag-play","tag-running-back","tag-week"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117150473813840364","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=981889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/981890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=981889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=981889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=981889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}