The Los Angeles Chargers got their running back of the future on Thursday night, selecting Omarion Hampton in the first round of the draft. He will come in and be a fixture on offense right out of the gate, adding to a team that looks to pound the rock on offense whenever it can.
The depth at running back in this draft was great and though most fans expected the team to target one in a later round, Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh came to the conclusion that there is something to the rise up the board that Hampton has experienced heading into this draft.
The team will likely add at least one more running back in the undrafted free-agent signing process, but as of right now, here is how the team's current depth chart looks.
Chargers running back depth chart
| Depth Chart Slot | Player |
| RB1 | Najee Harris |
| RB2 | Omarion Hampton |
| RB3 | Kimani Vidal |
| RB4 | Hassan Haskins |
| RB5 | Jaret Patterson |
As you can see by the depth on the roster, the team needed another running back, even though Najee Harris has never missed a game.
Harris signed only a one-year deal with the team and Hampton, who will open the season as his primary backup, will be the team's RB1 sooner rather than later.
The depth after that is still shaky. Kimani Vidal may not be much of a fit for Greg Roman's offense and last season, Harbaugh seemed to prefer his old Michigan guy Hassan Haskins ahead of him.
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Hampton can be a bellcow running back for this team and though they will likely work him in slowly, this pick was made with that thought in mind for the future. Harris and Hampton can create the kind of combination that Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery have in Detroit this season and then the team can evaluate after this season how much Harris still fits into its system.
Hampton has the chance to become a dominant running back as soon as year two with this team.
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