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Can Chargers' Kimani Vidal start to match fan hype after Najee Harris injury?
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Chargers apparently feel good enough about the running back depth chart to avoid any major roster moves or additions in the wake of the Najee Harris season-ending injury. 

Meaning, now might be the time for Kimani Vidal to match some of the hype. 

Vidal is the next map up to the active roster with Harris off to injured reserve, technically putting him behind first-round rookie Omarion Hampton and Hassan Haskins on the depth chart. 

But Vidal is an interesting story. He was a widely popular pick by the Chargers in the sixth round of the draft last year. Fans saw his film and 1,600-plus rushing yards at Troy in his final season and tabbed him as a sleeper who could work his way up the depth chart. 

Instead, with Jim Harbaugh and others referencing pass-blocking, Vidal never matched that hype and was even a part of final cuts this summer before re-upping with the team on the practice squad. 

That, after the team signed Harris, drafted Hampton and landed other notable undrafted free agents like Raheim Sanders. 

Even so, Vidal is up now and with Haskins holding such a strong spot on special teams, could get the call at times. If he can prove steady as a pass-blocker, perhaps he can start to prove fans right, just one year later than expected. 

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Chargers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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