Omarion Hampton plods to 33 yards in loss

Justin Herbert and the flailing Chargers skill position players have appeared almost comically confused about all the pre-snap motion OC Mike McDaniel uses. That came through in the team’s embarrassing Week 6 loss to the Chiefs when players were bumping into each other during pre-snap motion calls from Herbert. Head coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged the team is considering narrowing the offensive playbook during their bye week. “Definitely looking at volume and where you can make it to where the players can understand,” Harbaugh said when asked about how Chargers players were adjusting to McDaniel’s complex offense. The Chargers have used pre-snap motion on 74 percent of their snaps, the fourth highest rate in the NFL. Last year they used motion on 56 percent of their snaps. Hopefully these adjustments lead to some production for the NFL’s worst offense.

Hampton was his usual plodding self in this one, with a long rush of four yards in another depressing outing for the LA offense. Kimani Vidal, meanwhile had seven rushes for 21 yards and got much of his work in the first quarter. Keaton Mitchell had just two carries and did not catch his lone target. Hampton led the backfield in routes and targets on the day. His diminishing role and his lack of efficiency has made Hampton nothing more than a touchdown-dependent desperation flex option this year. The Chargers have a bye in Week 7.

“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.

Hampton’s late touchdown that still left the Chargers down by 10 in the middle of the fourth quarter is the only positive of the day. Los Angeles clearly isn’t enamored with the second-year tailback — or at the very best, is concerned about keeping him healthy — right now, and he was clearly in a timeshare again with Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal. He’s at best a FLEX play for Week 5 against the tough Denver defense.

The Chargers were missing two starting interior linemen and decided that running up the gut was not going to work for them. Understandably so. Hampton was held to just 3.7 yards per carry and didn’t seem to break any tackles in the interior of the Bills’ defensive line. Mike McDaniel decided to use Keaton Mitchell on the perimeter at the start of the game, but the Bills adjusted to take that away. At the end of the day, Hampton had 15 carries to Mitchell’s eight, but Hampton played 29 snaps, while Mitchell played 26 and ran a route on double the amount of dropbacks that Hampton did. This is a problematic timeshare in an offense that doesn’t look very good right now. Hampton remains a low-end RB2 who is touchdown dependent, which means he’s probably an RB3 next week against the Seahawks.

Hampton was a workhorse in this game, picking up what was blocked but not much more. He had a solid outing going until late in the fourth quarter when Nakobe Dean knocked the football out of his hands and into the waiting arms of Jeremy Chinn. A lengthy return put the Raiders in scoring position and all but ended the game. Fantasy managers won’t be too bothered by the blunder today, but it could result in the team giving more work to Keaton Mitchell, who only touched the ball six times. Hampton will be near the top of the RB2 ranks for Week 3 versus the Bills despite seeing an RB1 workload today.

Hampton got away with it thanks to a first half touchdown plunge before the LA offense imploded following Ladd McConkey’s chest injury. Hampton was not targeted on 17 pass routes while Keaton Mitchell saw one target on 13 routes. Mitchell had four rushes on the day. Mike McDaniel’s offense collapsed immediately after the Bolts marched downfield on their first drive of the game, making it hard to tell exactly how Hampton (and Mitchell) will be used in neutral game script. That the Chargers were dominated by the Cardinals could be a bad sign for everyone in the Chargers offense, including Hampton. He’ll be a top-20 option next week against the Raiders.

Mitchell, a limited participant in practice for much of the week, will suit up for the Bolts’ season opener against Arizona. He should see a handful of designed touches in Mike McDaniel’s offense while Omarion Hampton functions as the team’s lead back and Kimani Vidal mixes in here and there. Mitchell can be used as a second flex option for now. Chargers declared S RJ Mickens, CB Deane Leonard, OL Logan Taylor, OL Alex Harkey, and OL Trevor Penning inactive for their season opener.

Popper fielded a question about Hampton’s top-10 chances as a guest on the Locked On Chargers show. The metrics for measuring this feat were left undefined, but rushing yardage or scrimmage yardage are the two most likely baselines. While OC Mike McDaniel has teased a potential hot-hand approach, Popper has remained steadfast in his stance that Hampton is set for bellcow duties thanks in part to speed, physicality and scheme versatility. He warrants RB1 treatment right out of the gate.

Mitchell’s box score would have looked a lot better if his 21-yard reception on a route out of the backfield had not been called back due to a penalty. Chargers starting RB Omarion Hampton played all three snaps on the opening drive before giving way to Mitchell, who played 10-of-10 snaps on the second and third drives. Fellow backup RB Kimani Vidal took the field as the Chargers’ kick returner to begin the game. He made his first appearance on offense on the Chargers’ fourth drive. Mitchell could return standalone FLEX value with big-play upside in this role. He reportedly visited the blue medical tent, but was allowed to return to the sideline. Hopefully, this is a non-issue.