The Chargers took a huge step forward last season, just like every other Jim Harbaugh team in his first season at the helm. They hit big on Ladd McConkey, but fell short because Jim Harbaugh couldn’t find the right player to run the rock. The Chargers got their man with Omarion Hampton and snagged two receivers and a tight end in the draft. Let’s look deeper at the four fantasy football-relevant players joining the Bolts in 2025!
| Rd | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 22 | Omarion Hampton | RB | North Carolina |
| 2 | 55 | Tre Harris | WR | Ole Miss |
| 3 | 86 | Jamaree Caldwell | DT | Oregon |
| 4 | 125 | Kyle Kennard | EDGE | South Carolina |
| 5 | 158 | KeAndre Lambert-Smith | WR | Auburn |
| 5 | 165 | Oronde Gadsden II | TE | Syracuse |
| 6 | 199 | Branson Taylor | OT | Pittsburgh |
| 6 | 214 | R.J. Mickens | S | Clemson |
| 7 | 256 | Trikweze Bridges | S | Florida |
Round 1, Pick 22: Omarion Hampton, Running Back, North Carolina (5’11”, 221 lbs)
The following is an excerpt from the Round One Fantasy Football Rookie Round Up.
TALENT
With few exceptions, they don’t really make running backs like Hampton anymore. He’s an old-school bowling ball who is huge and physical and has a punishing style to go with his massive build. Hampton is ridiculously good in the open field, though he doesn’t really have a top gear. He also doles out punishment on anyone who tries to tackle him.
Unfortunately, that’s all there is to his game that is worth noting. He is a powerful grinder who is okay in blitz pickup and proficient at catching the football. He’s a perfectly cromulent player, though he has some downsides. Mainly, he vibes his way through the line of scrimmage and decides that he is going to brute force his way through tacklers. That worked fine at college, but that could become a massive problem in the NFL. His vision is fine, but nothing spectacular.
NFL Comparison: Alfred Morris
Pre-Draft Grade: 2nd Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
RB1a Omarion Hampton
RB1b Najee Harris
RB3 Raheim Sanders
RB4 Kimani Vidal
RB5 Hassan Haskins
2025 OPPORTUNITY
I’m not sure? What is Jim Harbaugh doing? Can someone help me? Please? After snagging Najee Harris in free agency, Harbaugh & Co. turn around and snag another tough runner in Omarion Hampton. The fit makes perfect sense, as Jim Harbaugh wants to run it up your backside as much as humanly possible. The use of capital on Hampton and Najee makes little sense, especially since Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey were making sweet music at the end of the season.
That said, the Chargers will likely use Hampton in a 50/50 backfield split with Harris, who is close to being the same player. His upside is predicated on losing Harris, which might very well happen. Outside of that, he’s unlikely to top 15 touches in a game, with most of those being runs.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
It’s fantasy football. We’ve seen Tyrone Tracy carve out a role as a running back in his rookie year, and he was a wide receiver! Right now, this very moment, without any more information… I’m not taking Hampton anywhere near his ADP. Per 4for4, he’s currently RB15 off the board. He’s ahead of Alvin Kamara, James Conner, and Kenneth Walker. I list Walker last because Walker is Hampton’s best-case scenario for his rookie season. Let someone else take him at that price and deal with the Najee Harris headache.
Round 2, Pick 55: Tre Harris, Wide Receiver, Ole Miss (6’2″, 205 lbs)
TALENT
If you put on a cut-up of all of Tre Harris’ 2024, and decide to stop after the first four games, then you’ve seen an absolute demon of the position, a versatile receiver who obliterates the competition. If you don’t pay attention, you know he mostly just crushed the inadequate zone defenses of Furman, Middle Tennessee, and Georgia Southern. I would be astonished if he went up against any NFL-level talent in those three games, and he mostly just found the holes in the zone against those three woefully overmatched programs.
Ultimately, Harris doesn’t create for himself, getting behind overmatched defenses for significant gains or getting screens and slants where he gets tackled after a couple of yards after the catch. He plays a lot smaller than his size, letting defenders get the best of him on contested catches, leading to many drops. Even when he catches the ball, he rarely breaks a tackle in any meaningful way when facing good competition. The moments also get too big for him, as evidenced by dropping an easy touchdown against LSU.
NFL Comparison: Quentin Johnston
Pre-Draft Grade: Late 3rd
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
WR1 Ladd McConkey
WR2 Tre Harris
WR3 Quentin Johnston
WR4 Mike Williams
WR5 Derius Davis
WR6 KeAndre Lambert-Smith
It’s hilarious that the Chargers ended up taking Tre Harris, who I compared to Quentin Johnston, who is trending toward borderline bust territory for L.A. Make no mistake: Tre Harris is in Los Angeles to take Quentin Johnston’s job. Johnston, who had a lot of high-profile drops and a continued inability to live up to his size (his 36.4% contested catch rate ranked outside the top-70 per PlayerProfiler), still finished with six targets and 66 air yards per game last season. If those to go Harris, and if he buckles down and maximizes his abilities, he could be what many hoped QJ would be.
That said, the Chargers have three bowling balls at running back (Hampton, Najee Harris, and Raheim Sanders) and are likely to run the rock as much as humanly possible, giving the second option in the Chargers’ passing game minimal options in his rookie season.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Tre Harris isn’t super intriguing to me in his rookie season, at least for redraft leagues. It’s possible he sheds Quentin Johnston and ends up as the WR2 there, but QJ isn’t going anywhere in 2025 (without an injury). Tre Harris currently carries a WR67 ADP ahead of Jack Bech. I would much rather take Bech, who has a less circuitous path to relevancy.
Round 5, Pick 158: KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Wide Receiver, Auburn (6’0″, 190 lbs)
TALENT
Lambert-Smith, unfortunately, doesn’t have what it takes to be a contributor in the NFL. Don’t get me wrong, he has good hands and above-average speed. But, those are the only things he has in his positive on a football field. His route tree looked like a room full of negative Germans: nothing but nines. His speed didn’t even carry him well, as he had no “build-up” speed, and players could catch up to him as they gained momentum. He could make a roster as a gunner and rotational WR5 if he commits to doing so, but ultimately, I don’t think he makes it very far.
NFL Comparison: Tyquan Thornton
Pre-Draft Grade: UDFA
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
WR1 Ladd McConkey
WR2 Tre Harris
WR3 Quentin Johnston
WR4 Mike Williams
WR5 Derius Davis
WR6 KeAndre Lambert-Smith
I don’t know if Lambert-Smith even makes the roster out of camp. The Chargers will likely toss him on the practice squad.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
He does not have an ADP. Let’s keep it that way.
Round 5, Pick 165, Oronde Gadsden II, Tight End, Syracuse (6’4″, 243 lbs)
TALENT
Gadsden doesn’t play tight end. Well, officially, he does. Unofficially, there’s very little difference between what he does and what Johnny Wilson does, except that Gadsden is good at it, and Johnny Wilson, as always, can go to hell. Gadsden is a big slot receiver with a massive wingspan who creates mismatch nightmares for defenders. He also has wonderfully deft hands at the end of his long arms, easily plucking balls out of the air. But I struggle with getting extremely excited about any mismatches that Gadsden might create, as he’s a huge wide receiver.
Gadsden does not block—shades of Mike Gesicki levels of not blocking, here (but without the near-perfect RAS). Gadsden’s college accolades come from his receiving prowess, and his conversion from wide receiver shows that Syracuse just changed which position group he takes pictures with. If you look at him through the window of being a wide receiver, he isn’t all that impressive. He is physically impressive, but he has zero separation skills. Gadsden still needs to get some seasoning before a team will trust him on the field. Gadsden flags as a developmental prospect, but one that teams will want to get on their roster to see what they can do.
NFL Comparison: Darren Waller
Pre-Draft Grade: 5th Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
TE1 Will Dissly
TE2 Oronde Gadsden II
TE3 Tyler Conklin
TE4 Tucker Fisk
Gadsden could overtake Dissly by Thanksgiving, but I am not bullish on him making it onto the field with enough frequency to matter. The Chargers need to keep him in the oven a little longer to allow him to flourish as a weapon. If he does make it onto the field, then he makes for an intriguing large slot option, but his lack of refinement leads me to worry that he would make three big receivers who struggle to play up to their size (QJ, Harris, Gadsden) on the field at once for L.A.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Keep him in mind if the Chargers give him a lot of snaps late in the season, but don’t draft him. He’ll have you saying e-Gads! (den).
