Omarion Hampton to Be Chargers' RB1 over Najee Harris vs. Chiefs, Jim Harbaugh Says

The Los Angeles Chargers will start rookie Omarion Hampton at running back over veteran Najee Harris to start the season on Friday, per Bolts head coach Jim Harbaugh to Rich Eisen, who relayed the remarks on his daily radio show and podcast.

"We talked to Jim Harbaugh the other day for the pre-broadcast meeting," Eisen said in advance of the Chargers' Week 1 battle with the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday in São Paulo, Brazil, where he'll do play-by-play for the game, which will be streamed on YouTube.

"I tried to ask him about the separation of carries between these (two running backs). All he would allow is that Hampton is going to start."

The Chargers selected Hampton, the former UNC star, with the 22nd overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Los Angeles signed Harris to a one-year, $5.25 million contract this offseason after the veteran played four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers to begin his career.

Unfortunately, a fireworks mishap at a Fourth of July event that Harris was attending led to him (and others at the event) suffering injuries. Specifically, Harris suffered a superficial eye injury and missed all of training camp.

However, Harris has since returned to practice and was even cleared for contact Monday. He's been a full participant at practice, and Harbaugh expects him to play.

"He says he's ready, and he looks ready to go," Harbaugh said, per ESPN's Nate Taylor. "Really hard to predict play counts. He's going to play football and have at it. That's the mindset."

It's unclear what the workload breakdown will look like, but it appears Hampton is going to be the first back out there.

Hampton didn't see much action in the preseason (just four carries for 21 rushing yards over two games), certainly indicating that the team is saving his efforts for the regular season. He was excellent at UNC, rushing for 3,565 yards and 36 touchdowns over three seasons (5.7 YPC) while adding 73 catches for 635 yards and four scores.

He faces a tall task Friday against the Chiefs, the defending AFC champions who finished with the No. 4 scoring defense last year. But Hampton and the Chargers could very well be up for it as L.A. looks to start the season with a big win. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.