Mike McDaniel to Elevate Chargers' 2026 Fantasy Football Performance

The most exciting Fantasy Football news of the 2026 offseason had nothing to do with a free agent signing, trade or draft pick. Look no further than play-caller Mike McDaniel leaving his head coach post with the Dolphins to run a Chargers offense absolutely loaded with talent and returning their two star offensive tackles. On paper, this could be one of the most explosive offenses in the entire NFL .

Dave Richard has ranked all 18 new play-callers from worst for Fantasy to best, and we're going team by team through his rankings to see how your perception of every key player should change before Fantasy football draft season. Up last at No. 1: Mike McDaniel and the Chargers.

Who's new?

Former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel will be tasked with overhauling the Chargers offense, a welcome development considering how conservative Jim Harbaugh initially was (and still sort of is). McDaniel is from the Kyle Shahanan branch of the West Coast offense, which historically has meant lots of outside zone runs and a timed-up passing attack. McDaniel has also typically used fullbacks and called plays at a snail's pace.

What's expected this year?

I'm not sure how much of McDaniel's developed tendencies from Miami will carry over to Los Angeles. He had to work around a lot of shortcomings with the Dolphins and won't have those same problems with Justin Herbert as his QB. However, McDaniel stressed the importance of easier completions for Herbert so he's not over-reliant on big plays. It might mean the quick-game will stick with McDaniel. He also spoke about the importance of his pass-catchers beating man-to-man coverage so that they can function efficiently in "an orchestrated system." It sounds like good route-runners will be rewarded. McDaniel, an avowed run-game maestro, averaged around 22 RB carries per game in Miami. His shared love of the run game with Harbaugh figures to benefit the Bolts' RBs, though his history as a big-time outsize zone run scheme playcaller (60% zone runs in Miami) could be challenged by Harbaugh's love of the more physical gap-scheme runs. It'll be interesting to see how those styles blend. And it remains to be seen if McDaniel will continue to lean into his running backs in the pass game, but that position had a 22.1% target share in his time there, never below 20.1% in a given season. I guess that it'll play in L.A.

Winners and losers for Fantasy

Omarion Hampton might be the biggest winner of all. He's a young, physical three-down back who displayed some quality talent as a rookie, including a 25.8% avoided tackle rate and a 91% catch rate on 3.5 targets per game. He was a better zone-scheme runner in college in 2024 (6.1 yards per carry) than he was as a rookie in 2025 (3.2 yards per carry). Leave it to McDaniel to make him more adept with his technique, giving Hampton the platform to take a major leap behind a healthier offensive line. Outside of 2022, Herbert's best Fantasy seasons have come when he's had to throw the ball a lot. If McDaniel sticks with the run like he did in Miami and asks Herbert to make quicker, easier throws. Herbert had a 5.1% TD rate last year on 512 attempts -- he'll either need more attempts or extreme efficiency to meet the lofty expectations some have for him. He's a Fantasy starter, but expecting a season north of 22 Fantasy points could be too much -- Herbert hasn't done that since 2021. If we're judging the Chargers' pass-catchers on route running as McDaniel suggested, then Ladd McConkey remains the safest bet of the group. Quentin Johnston isn't as good of a route runner but has downfield speed that McDaniel certainly loves to highlight when one-on-one matchups appear. I wouldn't get excited about anyone else, including Oronde Gadsden; Miami had two good years of tight end production with Jonnu Smith and some of Darren Waller , but those were more because of personnel circumstances rather than McDaniel choosing who to lean on. In 2022 and 2023, Miami's tight ends had a target share of 12.8% or lower.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/chargers-mike-mcdaniel-fantasy-football-outlook-2026/)._