With Los Angeles Chargers rookie phenom RB Omarion Hampton officially placed on injured reserve, and missing at least the next four weeks, the Chargers are now forced to turn to special teams ace RB Hassan Haskins and practice squad call-up RB Kimani Vidal to carry the workload.
Fantasy Football: Who’s Getting The Workload?
RB | Hassan Haskins
Let’s start off with Hassan Haskins (6’2″ 228 lb), who’s one of Jim Harbaugh’s guys, having played for him at Michigan, and was their leading rusher in 2021 (1327 yards). Although he has the size and makeup to be a workhorse back, his role on the Chargers has largely been as a core four special teamer.
Despite making the 53-man roster and being listed as the backup to Hampton, he never received a single carry until the rookie went down last game.
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He did out-touch Vidal last week with 6 total touches, but it’s still a relatively small sample size to bet on him being valuable even in PPR formats.
RB | Kimani Vidal
Moving on to Kimani Vidal (5’8″ 215 lb), who’s actually the great-nephew of MLB Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, was just officially promoted to the active roster from the practice squad.
A 6th-round pick in 2024 out of Troy, he was unable to crack the final roster this year with both Hampton and Najee Harris ahead of him. However, with the position group now gutted by injuries, it gives him a great opportunity to showcase the skill sets that made him the leading rusher in the Sun Belt conference (1661).
He brings far more juice than Haskins and is a dynamic player in both the run and pass game. In fact, his first career touchdown came on a wheel route down the right sideline against the Denver Broncos in Week 6 of 2024.
The Chargers have also shown how they would use him as a feature back during the HOF preseason game against the Detroit Lions. In the contest, he had 9 carries for 37 yards and 2 TDs, with both scores coming off of goal-line carries in the red zone.
Although he only had 4 carries, along with 1 catch on the game (21% snap share), his usage should skyrocket and ultimately dominate the backfield.
Chargers Backfield Wrap Up
Overall, against a porous Dolphins run defense that was gashed up for 206 rushing yards by RB Rico Dowdle and the Carolina Panthers, it would be a great spot to start Kimani Vidal, given his upside as a more dynamic weapon.
From a long-term outlook, the backfield will definitely be messy and could end up being a 70 – 30 split in favor of Vidal, though, with the offensive line struggling with injuries, it will be difficult to trust either player.
