Keaton Mitchell (hamstring) will play in Week 1

Mitchell did not catch his only target on the day. He was third among Bolts running backs in pass routes, behind Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal. The sad state of the Chargers offense and injuries to the team’s offensive line make it nearly impossible for Mitchell to post fantasy relevant numbers for now. The Chargers are on bye in Week 7.

The only positive here was that Mitchell was somewhat involved in the pass game, but it was all of the check-down variety. The injuries to the Los Angeles offensive line just won’t open many holes right now, and even if Mitchell has looked more spry than Omarion Hampton, there’s more risk than reward having him in a lineup right now.

“I don’t see any change in terms of the depth chart at all. I felt I was underutilizing a strength,” McDaniel said about the increased usage of Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal. McDaniel’s statement is good for Hampton in the sense that we know Hampton will retain a reasonable role. And it’s bad because McDaniel is all but confirming the pecking order will remain the same. Expect more low-end RB2/FLEX nonsense from Hampton.

Mitchell, Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal were both equally involved in the rushing attack, and that’s not really a compliment to anyone in this group.

He practiced all three days this week, upgrading to full on Friday, and should be a lower-end FLEX option against a tough Seahawks run defense. The good news for Mitchell is that the proof-of-concept of “the Chargers can’t run block so they should just use someone fast” worked in Week 3. He should see a reasonable amount of touches in Week 4.

The Chargers’ speedy RB2 was seen wearing a walking boot after practice on Wednesday, but that didn’t keep him from practicing today. Mitchell scored a touchdown on a red zone carry last week and could continue rotating in against the Seahawks this week. He should be rostered in 12-team leagues.

He was eventually added to the injury report as “limited” with an ankle issue. Per Rhim, Mitchell told reporters in the locker room he was okay. Mitchell was not initially on the injury report. This obviously flared up during practice but he didn’t have it looked at until after the report was posted. We will get more clarity on the situation tomorrow. Mitchell’s role grew in Week 3 with 11 touches, but a foot or ankle injury would likely limit any further progress.

Mitchell’s touchdown was on a “pass” from Justin Hebert that was really a jet sweep where Herbert let go of the ball, and Mitchell rushed it in off the edge. Regardless, it was a nice run by Mitchell, who made Deone Walker miss in the backfield and is a clear example that the Chargers want to get him the ball in space. Mitchell did see about half as many carries as Omarion Hampton, but he played just three fewer snaps and ran a route on nine more dropbacks. Considering he was also seeing some work in the red zone, Mitchell needs to be rostered in all formats right now.

The Chargers deployed Mitchell sparingly once again. He touched the ball four times in his LA debut last week and that number only improved to six this time around. Omarion Hampton logged 23 carries and two catches today. On the other hand, Hampton coughed up a game-losing fumble, so the Chargers may want to see more from Mitchell next week versus the Bills. He is buried in the RB5/6 ranks for now, but fantasy managers can hold onto him for at least one more week.

Omarion Hampton led the LA backfield with ten carries. Hampton scored a short rushing touchdown and lost a fumble in the first half. Mitchell logged 13 pass routes and one target against the Cardinals while Hampton ran 17 routes and was not targeted. Mitchell’s Week 1 involvement could lead to some fantasy usefulness at some point this season. For now he’ll remain a big-play reliant flex play in deeper formats.