Chargers Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 7 and Beyond: Kimani Vidal, Quentin Johnston and More

The Los Angeles Chargers offense hasn't looked quite like we all expected it to this season. Some of that is due to injuries to Najee Harris and Omarion Hampton, while others have been pleasant surprises. 

I thought it'd be a good time to go over the Chargers and the fantasy outlooks for week 7 and beyond. Let's dive in!

Wish a real fantasy expert could break down your team, not just spit out generic advice? Now you can - get a personalized Team Breakdown, tailored for your exact league.

Wide Receiver Outlook and Analysis

One of the offensive surprises has been Quentin Johnston. He leads the team's pass catchers in fantasy points, and that's after missing week 6 with an injury. He was a surprise inactive last week, and has been practicing in a limited fashion this week, so hopefully he's back.

Johnston has 377 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 26 receptions and 41 targets. He was between 7-13 targets over the first four weeks before taking a step back in week 5.

Keenan Allen has been really good in his return to the Chargers, although he's started to fade off a bit.

He has 316 yards and three scores over 33 catches and 51 targets. Allen has at least seven targets in every game, but hasn't scored the past three weeks, and has been over 40 yards just once in that span.

Ladd McConkey was the expected No. 1 wideout for the Chargers coming into the season. He started slow, but has picked things up over the past few weeks.

He has 313 yards and two scores on 28 catches and 43 targets this season. McConkey has a score in two straight games, and went off for 100 yards on seven grabs and nine targets last week - again, that was without Johnston.

Of that wide receiver trio, McConkey has played the most snaps (82% of the team's total). Johnston (70%) is ahead of Allen (62%) despite playing in one less game.

The trio has a stellar fantasy matchup against the Colts in week 7. It gives all three wideouts a chance to be standard league options, and I ranked them all in my top-30 PPR wideouts for the week.

There's more favorable fantasy matchups ahead as well, so there's reason to believe all three could remain standard league options for a lot of weeks. 

Looking ahead, I like McConkey and Johnston the most, and that's because they play the most snaps. Allen looks like a guy who could slip back to a better deep-league asset in time.

I'd look to sell high on Allen, while holding or trying to acquire McConkey and Johnston. I have McConkey as the top fantasy asset, and I think you could still buy him a bit lower in a trade - I'd do that move before this week, as I think his value is just going to keep going up. 

Johnston could regress a bit from his early-season success, so I'd consider selling him high. However, I still see him as a good weekly option, so I'd just keep rostering him unless you got blown away by an offer.

Tre' Harris would be the guy to possibly add if one of the top-three wideouts were to sustain a long-term injury. What it would really do is make the two remaining top-end receivers even stronger options.

Running Back Outlook and Analysis

With Harris out for the season, Hampton was supposed to be the lead back for the Chargers. He's on injured reserve, but will be back eventually. He's worth stashing in all leagues until he returns.

Until Hampton returns, it looks like it's Kimani Vidal's backfield. Hassan Haskins is the secondary option, but that could flip any week, so it's a situation to monitor every week.

Last week, Vidal played 43 snaps, getting 21 touches. He rushed for 124 yards on 18 carries and added 14 receiving yards and a score on three catches and four targets.

Haskins played 20 snaps, getting just six touches. He rushed six times for 14 yards, while catching his lone target for nine yards.

I like Vidal the most for week 7, but in a tougher matchup against the Colts, he's not ranked too highly for me. I'd only consider Haskins in deeper leagues, and don't love the idea of playing him in the tougher test.

Going forward, this is a situation to keep monitoring, as I said before. I expect Vidal to lead the way for the next few weeks until Hampton returns, but things could flip this week, and it could be a mess until the rookie back returns.

Keep a close eye on the backfield breakdown to see if Vidal widens his lead of the No. 1 role in the backfield, or if Haskins muddies things up. 

When Hampton returns, he'll be the workhorse again, so don't bail on him. Vidal and Haskins could become irrelevant at that point, but they should be held for a week or so at least after Hampton's return.

Tight End Outlook and Analysis

The Chargers seem like they've been searching for a tight end for a while now, and Oronde Gadsden might be finally emerging to fill that position.

He has 19 targets on the season, but eight came last week. Of course, that was with Johnston out, but the rookie could also be earning a larger role, so he's a name to at least keep an eye on.

Gadsden has 144 yards on 15 catches and those 19 targets. Tyler Conklin is another tight end on the roster, but he only has 83 yards on five grabs and eight targets. Gadsden has played more snaps, and I'd expect the gap in snaps to widen as the year moves on.

Gadsden is only rostered in 3% of leagues synced here at FantasySP, so not many are believing last week was a breakout. I at least think he's worth keeping an eye on for the next several weeks, and especially if one of the top-three wideouts goes down with an injury.

Gadsden is most valuable in dynasty leagues right now. He's worth stashing in a lot of those leagues in case he one day becomes a big-time part of the offense.

It's an average matchup against the Colts in week 7, so Gadsden is worth a look in really deep leagues. He'd be a much better option if Johnston were to miss a second straight game.

Justin Herbert Outlook and Analysis

Last but not least, let's discuss the quarterback of the team, Herbert.

He's completed 67.6% of his passes and averaged 248.8 passing yards per game. Herbert has 10 touchdown passes to four interceptions. He's rushed for 155 yards on 24 attempts.

He's QB13 on a per-week basis, so while he's close to being a weekly starting option, he's more in the conversation and a possibility every week now.

I like his outlook most weeks with all the pass catchers the Chargers have on their roster. If Vidal and Haskins can handle the backfield touches for the next few weeks, Herbert should remain a solid weekly starting option. His best outlooks will be when Hampton is back in the lineup though.

It's a below-average matchup for Herbert against the Colts this week, but I still have him as a top-10 option. I'd be happy to start him in all fantasy leagues every week.

His strength of schedule going forward is pretty solid too, so I expect Herbert to be a pretty solid fantasy option the remainder of the season.

If I rostered him, I'd continue to do so. He's not a pricey trade target, if you want to acquire him, but I'd still like to have a secondary option available in case I don't love Herbert's matchup in a given week. 

I just cannot get to an all-in stage with Herbert, and I don't see that coming the rest of the season either. He's a good weekly option, but not a must-start guy. The deeper a league gets, the more valuable he becomes.