Bolts From The Blue
The Chargers added a blue-chip running back prospect and a 4-time 1,000-yard rusher to their backfield but they still barely cracked the top half of NFL
The Chargers revamped their entire running back room last offseason, adding four new players that all played elsewhere the previous season. The group was headlined by former Ravens J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards and rounded out with rookie sixth-rounder Kimani Vidal and veteran Hassan Haskins.
Fast-forward one year later and the Chargers once again reshaped the top of their backfield by signing former Steelers back Najee Harris and drafting North Carolina standout Omarion Hampton. Harris should be seen as a refreshing dose of consistency (four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to begin career) for the Bolts as they haven’t had a rusher hit that mark since Melvin Gordon in 2017.
As for Hampton, he was a two-time 1,500-yard, 15-touchdown back for the Tar Heels who received back-to-back All-American honors to end his collegiate career. With all this in mind, it’s tough not to think that streak of rushers falling short of the 1,000-yard threshold will finally come to an end this season.
However, what if I told you that the Chargers backfield, with all of its new additions and potential, barely made it in the top 16 of a new set rankings by Pro Football Focus? Posted on Wednesday, analyst Dalton Wasserman went about ranking all 32 running back rooms in the league and the Bolts somehow landed at No. 15. That was one spot behind the Commanders (and former back Austin Ekeler) and one spot above Jonathan Taylor and the Colts.
“Similar to the division rival Las Vegas Raiders, Chargers running backs struggled to produce last season, so they turned to what they hope will be more reliable options,” says Wasserman.
“First-round pick Omarion Hampton is the headliner, earning a 90.5 PFF rushing grade and racking up the second-most yards after contact in the FBS, behind Ashton Jeanty, over the past two seasons. Free-agent acquisition Najee Harris has never been the most efficient player, but he earned a career-high 77.2 PFF overall grade last season.”
I’m not going to lie here, I think it’s a bit ridiculous to put the Chargers this low, especially when the Raiders are ranked several spots higher solely because of Asthon Jeanty’s pedigree. The rest of that room is not great. Veteran Raheem Mostert, Sincere McCormick, and Zamir White make up the rest of their room. The issue here is that PFF does go strictly by their grades and because Harris and his 1,000-yard season in 2024 came with a less-than-stellar grade, it all of a sudden doesn’t mean as much.
I’m pretty sure if you’d ask anybody else if the Raiders or Chargers running back room was better entering this season, they’d say Los Angeles. But, I digress.
Thoughts? Opinions?
