August 15, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver
Keenan Allen and quarterback
Justin Herbert have "picked up right where they left off in 2023," according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic. Allen spent the 2024 season with the Chicago Bears, but he racked up 150 targets, 108 receptions, 1,243 yards, and seven touchdowns in just 13 games during the 2023 season with the Chargers. The 33-year-old is at a different point in his career, and Los Angeles now runs a much less pass-happy offense under play-caller Greg Roman. Allen should not be expected to produce like he did two seasons ago, but he could still be a high-floor bye-week replacement in fantasy, particularly in PPR-scoring formats.
--Will BradySource: The Athletic - Daniel Popper
August 15, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers beat writer Daniel Popper of The Athletic projects Chargers running back
Najee Harris (eye) to open the season on the non-football injury list, which means he would be forced to miss the first four games of the season. Popper writes that he has "not seen nearly enough progress at this point to think (Harris) will be ready for Week 1." Harris suffered an eye injury on July 4 and just recently returned to practice in a very limited capacity this week. If Harris does indeed miss a chunk of the regular season, rookie running back
Omarion Hampton would have a major opportunity to seize the lead role in the Los Angeles backfield. Hampton is a steady riser in fantasy and profiles as a high-end RB2, while Harris has fallen to RB49 in RotoBaller's half-PPR rankings.
--Will BradySource: The Athletic - Daniel Popper
August 14, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback
Justin Herbert will play in his first career preseason game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams. Head coach John Harbaugh said the plan is for offensive and defensive starters, and Herbert will play "a series or two." While Herbert is viewed by many as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, his fantasy floor and ceiling took hits last season in Greg Roman's run-first offense. After throwing for at least 4,336 yards in the first three seasons of his career, the Oregon product tallied just 3,870 passing yards in 17 games a season ago. While he has a ton of upside in shootout game conditions, Harbaugh and Roman are unlikely to transition into a high-flying passing attack.
--Jackson Sparks - RotoBallerSource: Chargers.com
August 14, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers tight end
Oronde Gadsden is making a positive impression in training camp so far. According to The Athletic's Daniel Popper, Gadsden "continues to show up consistently in the passing game" for the Chargers. The rookie tight end made an "explosive" catch during Wednesday's practice as he continues to show why the Chargers used a fifth-round pick on him in the 2025 NFL draft. Gadsden caught two of his four targets for 15 yards in Los Angeles' preseason game against the New Orleans Saints last week. He is athletic and well-regarded as a pass catcher, but still has veterans
Tyler Conklin and
Will Dissly ahead of him on the depth chart. From a fantasy football perspective, Gadsden is more interesting for dynasty managers as he's unlikely to be relevant in redraft leagues until next season.
--Matt TerelleSource: The Athletic
August 12, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver
Ladd McConkey (undisclosed) was back in 11-on-11 drills at Tuesday's training camp practice, according to The Athletic's Daniel Popper. "I feel like I'm there now. It's just about building everything back up and...getting my conditioning back to where it needs to be," McConkey said when asked how close he is to 100% health. The Chargers and McConkey haven't disclosed the nature of his injury. Now that the 23-year-old second-year wideout is back at practice, he could play in the team's third preseason contest this Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams. The second-rounder in 2024 out of Georgia quickly became quarterback
Justin Herbert's go-to receiver last year and finished with an 82-1,149-7 line in 16 games played. McConkey is a low-end WR1/high-end WR2 in fantasy going into his sophomore season.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Athletic - Daniel Popper
August 12, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers running back
Najee Harris (eye) has made some progress and was able to do some jogging at training camp on Tuesday, according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic. Harris has gotten off to a bad start with his new team, suffering an eye injury during a fireworks mishap on the Fourth of July. The former Steelers RB remains on the Physically Unable to Perform list and has yet to practice with the rest of the team. What initially seemed like a minor injury actually has a chance to keep the 27-year-old sidelined for the start of the 2025 regular season. The former first-rounder has been durable in his NFL career and has recorded 1,000 rushing yards in each of his four seasons, but he's lacked big-play ability and could very well take a back seat to rookie first-rounder
Omarion Hampton whenever he gets back on the field. Harris has fallen to RB49 status at RotoBaller.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Athletic - Daniel Popper
August 12, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said that even if running back
Najee Harris (eye) isn't ready to go for the Week 1 regular-season opener, rookie first-rounder
Omarion Hampton will rotate in with another back. Who the other RB is remains wide open, according to Roman. If Harris isn't ready for Week 1, it would be either
Kimani Vidal or
Hassan Haskins sharing backfield touches with Hampton. With that said, Hampton's fantasy value heading into his first year in the NFL has continued to go up with Harris still on the Physically Unable to Perform list thanks to a fireworks accident that injured his eye. RotoBaller has Hampton ranked as the No. 13 fantasy RB currently. He's expected to be L.A.'s primary back by season's end, regardless of Harris' health, and he has intriguing big-play ability in what will be a run-first offensive attack.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Kris Rhim
August 10, 2025
The Los Angeles Chargers defense put on a dominant performance in a 27-13 preseason win over the New Orleans Saints. Under second-year defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, the defense held the Saints to just three points and 127 total yards in the first half. This strong showing comes a week after the unit forced five turnovers against the Lions. Fourth-year linebacker Caleb Murphy recorded two sacks against Saints starter
Spencer Rattler, while rookie Eric Rogers had two interceptions, including a 43-yard pick-six. The unit also stopped the Saints on a crucial fourth-and-goal and recorded five total sacks and seven tackles for losses. RotoBaller projects the Chargers as a top-10 DST this season, and this impressive outing shows they are ready to step up in a division with dangerous, mobile quarterbacks.
--Don FanelliSource: NFL
August 10, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers running back
Nyheim Hines looked rusty in the team's 27-13 preseason win against the Saints. The 28-year-old returned to the league, signing a contract with the Chargers in July after a two-year absence following a jet-ski accident. Hines muffed two punt returns and fumbled one away. He also added 10 yards on four carries, busting out an impressive juke on one run. However, he appeared out of sync most of the game. Despite having flashed on special teams in the past, Hines will have to do a lot more to make the team in an extremely crowded backfield.
--Don FanelliSource: NFL
August 10, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers undrafted rookie running back
Raheim Sanders led the backfield in the team's 27-13 preseason win against the New Orleans Saints. He had 10 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown, along with one catch for 11 yards. The 23-year-old made a strong case for the third backup role in an already crowded backfield with
Kimani Vidal,
Hassan Haskins, and
Nyheim Hines. Sanders, who transferred to South Carolina from Arkansas in his senior year, finished his college career with 881 yards on 183 carries and 11 touchdowns on the ground, plus 27 catches for 316 yards and two touchdowns. With
Najee Harris' (eye) Week 1 availability uncertain, the rookie will have to continue to prove himself to secure a spot on the final roster.
--Don FanelliSource: NFL
August 10, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback
Trey Lance started the second quarter of the team's 27-13 preseason win against the New Orleans Saints and eventually led a 14-play, 85-yard scoring drive towards the end of the half. The 25-year-old, a former first-round pick, got it done more with his legs than his arm, completing seven of 14 passes for 55 yards through the air while rushing for 48 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Although he was up and down with his accuracy and had a fumbled snap, Lance looked confident and poised, building off the momentum he gained in the Hall of Fame Game last week. Overall, Lance easily outplayed backup
Taylor Heinicke and made a strong case to be
Justin Herbert's primary backup this season.
--Don FanelliSource: NFL
August 10, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback
Taylor Heinicke had a very rough outing in his first preseason game, leading all three drives in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints. The 32-year-old is competing with
Trey Lance to be
Justin Herbert's backup, looked inaccurate and stiff, and sailed the ball multiple times. He finished with only one completion for five yards and also took a safety that was later overturned. Heinicke's 2024 season as a backup with the Chargers saw him complete just three passes for 28 yards, and this performance does little to cement his hold on the backup role.
--Don FanelliSource: NFL
August 8, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was non-committal about the status of running back
Najee Harris (eye) for the start of the regular season, saying, "there's a chance he is" when asked if Harris is playing in Week 1. Harris was injured on July 4 due to a fireworks mishap and has spent training camp on the non-football injury list as a result. Los Angeles signed Harris to a one-year deal in free agency this past offseason, and he's expected to share carries with rookie first-rounder
Omarion Hampton. If Harris does miss time, Hampton could be in line for a large workload right away. Even if Harris avoids being sidelined for regular season action, the training camp absence may have put him behind Hampton in the backfield pecking order. With the current uncertainty, Hampton profiles as a fringe RB1 in fantasy, while Harris is more of a depth piece/handcuff option.
--Will BradySource: ESPN - Kris Rhim
August 8, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback
Justin Herbert won't play during Sunday's second preseason game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Taylor Heinicke will get the starting nod for this contest.
Trey Lance started during the Hall of Fame game last week. The two of them are competing for the backup gig behind Herbert to begin the season. It's unclear if Herbert is going to play at all during the preseason. At the moment, Herbert should be considered a fringe top-10 fantasy quarterback.
--Andy WebbSource: NFL.com
August 8, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers right tackle Joe Alt is expected to shift over to the left tackle spot this season. The Chargers took a big blow earlier this week when they lost Rashawn Slater (knee) for the entire 2025 season. Now, the plan is to move Alt to left tackle while Trey Pipkins moves to right tackle. It's worth noting that Alt played left tackle during his time in college. The Chargers need to find a way to help cover
Justin Herbert's blindside, so this looks like the best solution. The loss of Slater is certainly going to hurt, but Alt is a solid second option at left tackle.
--Andy WebbSource: Kris Rhim
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