The NFL, at its core, is a perpetual chess match. Coaches scheme, players execute, and philosophies clash like titans on the gridiron. In Los Angeles, a fascinating strategic duel is unfolding, pitting modern aerial expectations against a coach’s time-tested, dirt-under-the-fingernails creed. The Chargers, armed with a generational quarterback in Justin Herbert, are paradoxically doubling down on the run.

It’s a move as bold as an all-in blitz, sparking debate hotter than a SoFi Stadium parking lot in July. As Chris Hassel framed it: “All right, let’s get to the Chargers who went out and signed Najee Harris. They used a first-round pick on running back Omarion Hampton and it’s starting to resemble more of a Jim Harbaugh-type offense that we’re used to seeing from him.”

John Breech immediately underscored the apparent contradiction: “Yeah, absolutely. Chris, look, it’s funny because this team has Justin Herbert, so you think they just want to go out and sling it. Let’s throw it 95% of the time and forget the run game exists. But that’s not what Jim Harbaugh does. He wants to run the ball down your throat and play defense.”

There’s no mystery here. Harbaugh’s blueprint, forged at Stanford, hardened in San Francisco with 49ers stalwarts like Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore, and polished to a national championship shine at Michigan, is as subtle as a forearm shiver. “That’s how he wins games. That’s what’s been successful for him at every level he’s been to,” Breech continued. “He just won a national title at Michigan. He’s been successful in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. So, we know that his philosophy does work at this level.”*

The personnel moves scream commitment. Najee Harris, the human battering ram with four consecutive 1K-yard seasons, brings Pittsburgh-tested toughness. First-rounder Omarion Hampton, fresh off back-to-back 1,500+ yard campaigns at UNC, is a 221-pound sledgehammer built for Harbaugh’s ‘baseline training’ ethos.

This isn’t tinkering; it’s a trench warfare manifesto. Think less ‘Mario Kart’ speed boosts, more the deliberate, terrain-controlling strategy of ‘Red Dead Redemption.’ Harbaugh’s early Chargers tenure confirms the shift: a clear 55–60% run skew, an O-line fortified with road graders like Mekhi Becton and Andre James, and JK Dobbins leading the league in carries before injury struck last fall. “And so, it’s pretty clear that this team is going to run the ball a lot,” Breech concluded.

Who’s catching the cooked passes? The WR2 riddle in Harbaugh’s run-first symphony

But the question lingers, as Tyler Sullivan pointedly asked: “There’s no doubt that Jim Harbaugh wants to run, but they do have to throw at some point, right? This isn’t back in the old days. This is the modern day NFL.” Sullivan cut to the heart of the Herbert conundrum: “You win by throwing the football. So, to me, the question for the Chargers is: we know that they have [Ladd] McConkey as an emerging Year 2 wide receiver after a tremendous rookie season, but what does the position look like after that?”*

The search for Herbert’s reliable WR2 feels like a scavenger hunt in a half-built stadium. *”What is the number-two option in the passing attack for Justin Herbert?” Sullivan pressed. “Right now, I’m kind of scratching my head to try to find someone that gives you a clear-cut answer.”

The options are a mix of hope and uncertainty. Mike Williams, re-signed after ACL hell and a nomadic 298-yard 2024, carries the pedigree of past 1K seasons but also the wear of 30 years. Quentin Johnston, the ’23 first-rounder, teased with a 186-yard Week 18 eruption but remains frustratingly inconsistent. Rookie Tre Harris boasts SEC swagger (1,030 yards in just eight games at Ole Miss) and OTA buzz: “Every throw [Justin Herbert’s] made to me has been right on the money.”

“They have Mike Williams, brought back as someone who can work on the boundary, and Quentin Johnston, a former first-round pick who hasn’t really lived up to that potential. They also drafted Trey Harris in the second round—maybe they try to go two-for-two in the past two years to find that number-two wide receiver.”

Could the answer lie in the backfield? Sullivan floated the possibility: “Another option could be Amarian Hampton out of the backfield as the second-most targeted pass catcher in that offense, because of how dynamic he is with the ball in his hands.”* Hampton’s college receiving chops (73 catches, 635 yards) support this. Yet, the core issue remains stark. “But to me, it boils down to where they find that secondary outlet in the passing game for Justin Herbert.”

Herbert, ever the consummate professional, embraces the shift. He thrived within Jim Harbaugh’s balanced system last year, posting a ludicrous 23:3 TD:INT ratio. Harbaugh’s goal isn’t to shackle his QB, but to unleash him strategically: “Protecting him. We need a run game … so he doesn’t have to be Superman every single play.”

It’s about creating manageable downs, exploiting play-action (where Herbert was nearly flawless in ’24), and preserving his arm for December – and beyond. The ground game isn’t a rejection of Herbert’s brilliance; it’s the foundation meant to elevate it, a clock-chewing ballet designed to set up the knockout aerial pass.

The debate – ground-and-pound vs. letting Herbert cook – is the soundtrack of Chargers camp. Can Najee Harris and Omarion Hampton form a thunder-and-lightning duo potent enough to soften defenses for Herbert’s cannon? And crucially, who emerges from the shadows – Mike Williams, Quentin Johnston, Tre Harris, or even Amarian Hampton himself – to give Herbert that crucial second trusty target? Jim Harbaugh’s philosophy is clear. Its success hinges on execution and the answer to Herbert’s silent plea for a reliable partner in the passing game. The Chargers’ season, and perhaps Herbert’s prime, depends on striking that delicate balance.