Who Should I Start? Alvin Kamara or Omarion Hampton

Friday, January 2, 3:42 PM

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (knee, ankle) has been ruled out for his team's Week 18 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, per ESPN's Katherine Terrell. Kamara suffered a sprained MCL in Week 12 that will ultimately end up causing him to miss New Orleans' final six games of the season. Across 11 contests in 2025, the 30-year-old recorded 657 scrimmage yards and one touchdown on 164 touches. His 3.6 yards per carry and 4.0 yards per touch both represent career lows. With Kamara sidelined and Saints backs Kendre Miller (knee) and Devin Neal (hamstring) on Injured Reserve, New Orleans will likely split backfield work between Audric Estime and Evan Hull in Week 18, with tight end Taysom Hill possibly mixing in as well. Estime functioned as the team's lead back in Week 17, recording 14 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.

Sunday, January 11, 7:42 PM

Los Angeles Chargers rookie running back Omarion Hampton (ankle) is officially active for Sunday's playoff contest against the New England Patriots. He had been listed as questionable and missed a pair of practices before being upgraded to a limited participant on Friday. Hampton sat out Week 18 with an ankle injury, but his absence was more of a precaution as Los Angeles rested many starters, and the rookie running back was just four weeks removed from a seven-game absence. He took a little while to get back to 100 percent after the injury, but his 81% snap share and 22 touches from Week 17 should indicate that he's back to a starter's workload. We wouldn't be surprised to see him handle another 20-plus touches against the Patriots, whose run defense started to falter down the stretch but still finished with the third-fewest fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs in 2025.