The Chargers selected Mississippi State WR Brenen Thompson in Round 4 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Thompson is tiny: 5’9 and 164 pounds. That’s a first percentile weight among all WRs at the Combine since 1999. There have only been five 1,000-yard seasons from sub-170-pound WRs in NFL history. So Thompson would be an outlier if he delivers big fantasy numbers. But there’s plenty to like about his profile. He led Mississippi State and the entire SEC with 1,054 receiving yards last year. Thompson’s 34.3% dominator rating (share of his team’s receiving yards + TDs) ranked eighth among the 49 WRs invited to this year’s Combine. His 2.77 yards per route ranked seventh. Thompson blazed a 4.26-second 40 time at the Combine – and that speed shows up on tape. He ranked 11th in the country in yards (478) and TDs (5) on targets 20+ yards downfield last year. Thompson’s size figures to be a limiting factor in the NFL. But there’s enough speed and skill here for Thompson to at least emerge as a spike-week player for fantasy teams.

The Chargers spent the 22nd pick of the Draft on Edge Akheem Mesidor. The teammate of Rueben Bain Jr. tied for fourth-most total pressures among all FBS players last year, according to Pro Football Focus. He spent the past four years at Miami after two at West Virginia to open his college career.

The Chargers are signing RB Keaton Mitchell to a two-year deal, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Mitchell will get $9.25 million in all, with $5 million of that guaranteed. Mitchell spent the past three years with Baltimore after arriving as an undrafted free agent. He hit the open market after the Ravens elected not to tender him as a restricted free agent.

Former Miami Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel has officially joined the Los Angeles Chargers as the team's new OC. McDaniel was previously linked to L.A. but was still entertaining potential HC openings. We expected this deal to be finalzied after McDaniel withdrew his name from Cleveland's HC search and canceled an interview with the Bills last Friday. McDaniel's hiring looks promising for a Chargers' offense that is stacked with young talent but was ravaged by injuries in 2025.

Let's just give you the language from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero: "The Chargers plan to hire Mike McDaniel as their offensive coordinator." That report stipulates that McDaniel remains in play for the HC positions in Baltimore and Las Vegas. But if he doesn't assume a head-coaching position, he'll apparently pilot the Chargers' offense.

The Chargers fired OC Greg Roman. The offense was disappointing this season, but an injury-wrecked offensive line was a much bigger culprit than Roman's scheme or play-calling. The Chargers lost LT Rashawn Slater to a season-ending torn patellar tendon in August and then watched RT Joe Alt go down with his own season-ending ankle injury in Week 9. Los Angeles finished bottom two in Pro Football Focus' run- and pass-blocking grades and ESPN's run- and pass-blocking win rates. QB Justin Herbert was pressured on a league-high 43.6% of his dropbacks. We'll see who the Chargers tab to replace Roman. But the offensive line should be much better in 2026 with better health. With Herbert, plus RB Omarion Hampton, WRs Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and Tre Harris, and TE Oronde Gadsden, this is a prime bounce-back offense to target in fantasy drafts.

Chargers RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) is active for tonight's Wild Card game vs. the Patriots. The rookie was wearing an ankle brace in his limited practice on Friday and is a safe bet to be operating at less than 100% in this one. But we are projecting Hampton to lead Los Angeles' backfield, ahead of RB Kimani Vidal.

Chargers RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday night's Wild Card game vs. the Patriots. He only got in a limited practice on Friday but said that he expects to play. We'll look for further updates on the rookie's status, but it's safe to assume he'll be at far less than 100% if he does suit up. That could mean more RB Kimani Vidal.

Chargers RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) missed practice again on Thursday. "We’re gonna wait and see on that," OC Greg Roman said of the rookie. "He’s working through his process with the medical group. He’s ready, mentally, with the gameplan, and then we’ll have to wait and see." We'll see if Hampton practices on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report for Sunday night's game vs. the Patriots.

Chargers RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. We assumed he was held out of the regular-season finale more for rest purposes, but it now looks like he's legitimately hurt. HC Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday that Hampton is "doing everything and anything he can to get back." We'll keep tabs on the rookie's status over the next few days. If he misses Sunday night's game vs. the Patriots, Kimani Vidal would step in as Los Angeles' lead back.

Chargers RBs Kimani Vidal (neck) and Hassan Haskins (concussion) are active for today’s game vs. the Broncos. With RB Omarion Hampton out, we’re expecting Vidal to lead the backfield. But he’s an unexciting fantasy option with the Trey Lance-led Chargers huge underdogs in this one.

Chargers RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Broncos. The rookie didn’t practice all week, so it’s unclear if he’s actually hurt or is just getting the week off ahead of the playoffs. RBs Kimani Vidal (neck) and Hassan Haskins (concussion) are both listed as questionable but put in full practices on Friday and should be available. We’re projecting Vidal to lead the backfield, but it’s not an upside fantasy spot with the Chargers 12.5-point underdogs in Denver.

Chargers RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) remained sidelined for Thursday's practice, while RB Kimani Vidal (neck) was a full-go. We're expecting Hampton to be held out of Sunday's game vs. the Broncos, along with other key starters. It looks like Vidal will be available, though, leaving him as the best bet for touches in the backfield. That puts Vidal on the Week 18 radar, although it's tough to get excited about the upside with the Trey Lance-led Chargers 12.5-point underdogs in Denver.

Chargers RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. The rookie seemed to make it out of last week's loss to the Texans ok. But HC Jim Harbaugh already announced that QB Justin Herbert won't play in Sunday's game vs. the Broncos, and it wouldn't be surprising if Hampton was also held out. RBs Kimani Vidal (neck) and Hassan Haskins (concussion) were limited on Wednesday.

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh announced Monday that QB Justin Herbert won't play in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Broncos. The Chargers sit tied with Houston and Buffalo at 11-5, so there's some potential mobility to their seed with Week 18 results. But Harbaugh has clearly decided that getting Herbert -- and potentially others -- healthier for the playoffs matters more than the difference between the No. 5 and No. 7 seeds.

We knew the matchup wasn't good for WR Ladd McConkey, with the Chargers facing the Texans in Week 17. But McConkey drew a season-low two targets despite his team quickly falling behind. He still led the team at 39 routes -- five ahead of his nearest teammate -- but four others drew more targets.

Chargers RB Kimani Vidal (neck) is inactive for today's game vs. the Texans. That leaves Hassan Haskins as Los Angeles' No. 2 RB and should mean more work for RB Omarion Hampton. The rookie checks in 18th in the Week 17 RB rankings.

Chargers RB Kimani Vidal (neck) is listed as questionable for Saturday's game vs. the Texans. He only got in a limited practice on Thursday. Vidal shouldn't be in your Week 17 fantasy plans, but his absence would be a noticeable boost for RB Omarion Hampton.

Chargers RB Kimani Vidal is considered "day to day" with a neck strain suffered in the Week 16 win over the Cowboys, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "Vidal could miss time, but the belief is that it's not serious," Rapoport adds. We'll start the week projecting Vidal to miss Saturday's game vs. the Texans, which would leave Hassan Haskins as the No. 2 RB and likely mean a significant boost in volume for RB Omarion Hampton.

The Chargers' passing game came back to life for Sunday's win at Dallas, producing 300 yards for just the third time all season and first since Week 7. TE Oronde Gadsden, however, managed just 1 reception on one target for the game. That marked the third time in the past four games that Gadsden finished with just 1 catch.