What's Omarion Hampton's Fantasy Football Outlook After Najee Harris' Injury?

After a long road back this summer, Najee Harris of the Los Angeles Chargers returned to the team in Week 1 and, frankly, looked pretty great in a rotation with Omarion Hampton.

Unfortunately, the 27-year-old veteran and former first-round pick suffered a severe looking injury in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos.

What is Harris' prognosis, and what does it mean for the rookie Hampton -- and the rest of the Bolts' backfield? Let's dive in.

Najee Harris' Injury

Unfortunately, it seems like the worst possible outcome has ended Najee Harris' season.

Though not a surprise to unfortunate viewers of the gruesome injury, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed that Harris suffered an Achilles injury in Sunday's game and added "there's not a lot of optimism" given the nature of the injury.

Remember, Harris had worked himself back from a July eye injury to even be ready for the start of the season with no training camp or preseason. He had carved out a 20.8% snap share across the three games thus far, averaging 5.0 carries and 1.0 targets per contest.

Harris' injury leaves just Omarion Hampton, Hassan Haskins, and Kimani Vidal as the current surviving options. Gus Edwards, who ran for 365 yards with the team last year, is a free agent who could be in the mix for an in-season signing.

Omarion Hampton's Rest-of-Season Fantasy Expectations

Frankly, Harris had barely been up to speed, so things should stay busy for Hampton after Harris' injury. Any threat of a role decrease seems gone.

Hampton's 74.6% snap rate thus far is better than anyone could have hoped for the 2025 first-round pick in a Greg Roman offense. He's handled 14.0 carries and 3.7 targets per game with the hefty rate of playing time.

In Week 3, the tailback finally powered into the end zone, and more of that could be on the way in numberFire's eighth-ranked schedule-adjusted offense entering Week 3.

However, NFL's Next Gen Stats still have him at -0.09 expected points added per carry (EPA/c). He's had a tough time finding running room behind an offensive line missing Rashawn Slater (knee) that also lost Mekhi Becton (concussion) yesterday.

If you're a manager of Hampton, though, this was a dream scenario. He's now locked into a full-time role above competition that isn't NFL-caliber, and the Chargers might be the best team in the league and will produce some positive game scripts.

Even struggling with inefficiency at times, the rookie should be valued as an RB1 the rest of the season. Hampton posted 21.9 half-PPR fantasy points in Week 3, making him tough to buy in any format, but you're doing backflips if he's on your roster.

Really, the only scenarios that could deny that are injury, a sudden plummet in passing efficiency for the Bolts, or a potential Gus Edwards signing that becomes a nuisance at the goal line. Hampton didn't miss a game due to injury in college, so he seems built for this type of workload.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.