Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has good news and bad news for fantasy football managers.
The Chargers are entering the 2026 season with a three-headed backfield of Omarion Hampton, Kimani Vidal, and Keaton Mitchell. McDaniel told a reporter during his Aug. 10 press conference that he believes all three running backs will perform at a high level. That said, he has no intention to favor one over the other to pad stats, and will lean on whoever is performing the best in the moment.
McDaniel was asked by a reporter whether he views Vidal and Mitchell as similar backs.
“I think they are both very high-quality players that can really be entrusted with the ball in regular season games already. I’m very confident in them,” he said. “I think they both have unique skills; that’s a skill to their game that’s not because the other guy can’t, it’s because one guy’s exceptional at this or that. But I look at those guys as running backs.”
Mitchell and Vidal are similar in stature (Mitchell is 5-foot-8 and 191 pounds, Vidal is 5-foot-8 and 215 pounds). Mitchell has slightly more explosiveness and better long speed (a 4.37-second 40-yard dash compared Vidal’s 4.46; 1.48-second 10-yard split to Vidal’s 1.53, 38-inch vertical jump to Vidal’s 37.5, and 10-foot-6-inch broad jump to Vidal’s 10-foot), while Vidal has more strength short-area quickness (a 4.15-second 20-yard shuttle to Mitchell’s 4.36, a 7.01-second three-cone drill to Mitchell’s 7.40, and 18 reps of bench press compared to Mitchell’s 13).
Mitchell was picked up by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He began his career as a piece in the Ravens’ deep and multi-headed rushing attack, but only appeared in 8 games due to injury. In 2024 and 2025, he was featured as a change-of-pace back for Derrick Henry in the Ravens’ backfield. He had just 5 appearances in 2024, but played in 13 games in 2025.
Vidal was drafted by the Chargers in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He appeared in 10 games as a rookie as a backup to former Ravens J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. In 2025, he appeared in 13 games with 10 starts when Hampton and Najee Harris went down with injuries.
McDaniel said Monday that he wants both of their skill sets to complement nominal number one back Omarion Hampton.
“This day and age, with the speed of our NFL now, you’d better have at least three,” he said.
“That’s why I feel so good about the group because you figure at some point there’s going to be, all three of those guys will start at some point, just by the nature of the NFL. It doesn’t mean guys get injured, but they get banged up, and I think it’s vital for what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to play football that all three of those guys I'd be comfortable starting with in the National Football League game. And I definitely am.”
Another reporter pressed McDaniel, asking whether he considered Hampton as a workhorse back. McDaniel inferred that the reporter had an agenda behind the question.
“This feels super fantasy-motivated. So there’s good news and bad news, fantasy owners. Good news is, I see all three of those guys producing at a very high level. The bad news is, I can’t tell you which games those are,” he said.
“I think there’s going to be opportunities for him to have a ton of touches, and I like to have backs be fresh, just because I think it’s a competitive advantage against the defense, who’s not subbing out. … I’m not very comfortable when a guy I can tell is in the zone, to take him out. So, you kind of play hot hand once you’re into games. But I'll use all three of those guys probably every game. The relative ratio, that will be based on opponent and what we’re asking the guys to do.”
Hampton was the Chargers’ first-round pick in 2025, but only played 9 games because of an ankle injury. The Chargers also have veteran Jaret Patterson, 2025 free-agent pickup Amar Johnson, and 2026 UDFA Gregory Derosiers on the depth chart.
