Fantasy Football Player Notes

Omarion Hampton piled up 3,164 rushing yards and 30 TD runs over his last two seasons at North Carolina and had 67 receptions over that span. The 220-pound Hampton is a powerful downhill runner who's a nightmare to bring down when he has a full head of steam. He's terrific between the tackles, squeezing through tight spaces and powering through contact. The Chargers grabbed Hampton at No. 22 in the draft. With Najee Harris not yet recovered from the eye injury he sustained in a Fourth of July fireworks mishap, it's possible Hampton could handle an enormous workload for the Chargers right away.

The fantasy value of Najee Harris is always tied closely to his workload. He logged 381 touches as a rookie in 2021, had 1,667 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns, and finished RB3 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. Harris has gotten around 300 touches in each of the last three seasons and has finished in RB2 range (though he hasn't fared quite as well in fantasy points per game). Now, Harris has landed with the Chargers and will have to compete for touches with first-round rookie Omarion Hampton. The smart money is on Hampton to finish the season with more touches, but that's not guaranteed. And even if Harris is the 1B in the Chargers' backfield, he could still be a useful fantasy asset in what figures to be one of the NFL's run-heaviest offenses. The ultra-durable Harris still hasn't missed a game in four NFL seasons. Further complicating the outlook for Harris is a fireworks mishap that landed him on the non-football injury list for the start of training camp with what was described as a "superficial eye injury."