Is Omarion Hampton the Rookie RB Worth Trading Up For?

Yes — his RB36 finish in 2025 hides a much better story. Omarion Hampton was playing like a top-15 running back before a fractured ankle ended his rookie season early, and almost everything about his situation heading into 2026 looks better than what he had as a rookie.

The quick answer

Hampton scores a 7,299 Dynasty Value Score and projects for 298.1 half-PPR points in 2026, 17.5 per game. His actual 2025 line — 119.7 points, RB36 — undersells what he did before getting hurt. Over his first four games he ranked 11th among running backs in half-PPR scoring. The injury cut that off, not a talent or role problem.

What actually happened

The Chargers took Hampton 22nd overall in the 2025 draft. The first two weeks were ordinary. Then he looked the part: RB5 in Week 3 and RB7 in Week 4, including a 128-yard rushing game. Next Gen Stats has him at +0.66 rush yards over expected per attempt on the season — 15th among 51 backs with 80 or more carries, on a 124-carry sample that includes the injury and the return.

He fractured his ankle in Week 5 (12 carries, 44 yards, six catches) and had no weekly line from Weeks 6 through 13. He came back for Weeks 14–17. The 100-yard games did not. He did not play Week 18. Nine games, 545 rushing yards, four rushing scores, 32 catches — that is how you finish RB36 with a first-round skill set.

Why 2026 looks like a clean reset

Three things moved in his favor.

• The depth chart cleared. Najee Harris lasted three games in 2025, then a season-ending Achilles injury. He is not on the Chargers' 2026 running back chart. Hampton is listed RB1 as of August 13, with Kimani Vidal and Keaton Mitchell as complementary depth, not real competition for the job.
• The offensive line should be healthier. Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater are both expected back at full strength, a better runway than the injury-riddled unit he ran behind as a rookie.
• The scheme changed.Los Angeles brought in Mike McDaniel as the new offensive play-caller and is moving toward outside zone — a system that tends to reward vision and burst, both of which showed up in Hampton's healthy stretch.

NextDyne's Engine already treats that as a lead-back season: 316 projected carries and 1,313 rushing yards, plus a real receiving line (70 catches). That is how you get to 17.5 points per game after a nine-game rookie file.

The risk that's still fair to weigh

Ankle fractures generally heal cleanly, and Hampton is reported to be entering training camp at full health. It is still his first real durability test at the NFL level. Any offense built around a bell-cow workload carries some risk until a player proves he can hold up for 16 games. That is a real, modest part of his price — not a reason to expect a repeat of 2025, but a reason the model still keeps some distance from the true top backs.

Where he stacks up against the field

Hampton's 7,299 DVS now sits above all four of the veterans he was being compared to a year ago — Saquon Barkley at 6,841, Josh Jacobs at 5,479, Chuba Hubbard at 4,522, and Jaylen Warren at 3,968. That's the model rewarding the flashed first-round skill set and the cleared depth chart over the proven-but-aging names he used to trail.

The bottom line

If you are holding Hampton, be patient rather than selling the injury-shortened rookie line. The role, the line, and the scheme all point toward a legitimate year-two leap if he stays healthy. If you are targeting him, this is close to the cheapest window his price offers before a strong 2026 season pushes him into the position's true top tier.

Model a trade for Hampton on the Dynasty Trade Calculator. His score already reflects real optimism about a clean, full-workload season.