Should I Start Kimani Vidal?

Thursday, July 23, 6:50 AM

While excitement continues to build around the Los Angeles Chargers' offense, an often overlooked player has become third-year running back Kimani Vidal. Omarion Hampton flashed enough in an injury-shortened rookie season to show why he was a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and Keaton Mitchell's game-breaking speed makes his fit in a Mike McDaniel offense easy to envision, but it was Vidal who led the team in carries and rushing yards a season ago, and he could still serve an important role moving forward. While Mitchell has more standalone fantasy value as the likely change-of-pace back, he is ill-equipped to handle a full workload should Hampton miss time again in his second season, making Vidal more of the true handcuff in this offense. At RotoBaller's RB74, he is not a player who needs to be targeted in fantasy drafts, but Vidal should still be viewed as one of the league's more valuable insurance backs, especially with the Chargers expected to field a much healthier offensive line in 2026.