Chargers' overlooked second-year player earns some big praise from Greg Roman

Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal has been a little lost in the shuffle of an offseason of moves for the team at his position. 

Those Chargers, after all, leaned into offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s preferences to prioritize the ground attack by signing Najee Harris in free agency. As if that weren’t enough, the team then turned around and added Omarion Hampton in the first round of the draft. 

That seems to all but eliminate Vidal from the discussion, especially when considering that undrafted free agent Raheim Sanders has enjoyed such hype around his name, too. 

But don’t tell Roman. 

Roman hit the “Chargers Weekly” show this week and talked about the running back room, making a point to say that Vidal has looked great, going so far as describing the second-year back as having a “second gear” going into training camp. 

Vidal, a sixth-round pick last year who earned some hype from fans during his rookie summer, only broke onto the field for 30 rushing attempts over six appearances. Some of the issues for Vidal, it seemed, came when he was asked to pass-block. 

But if Vidal has gotten right on the physical and nutrition front as second-year players tend to do and has a handle on the offense, he’s clearly got the support of Roman going into the summer. 

And if Vidal can match some of the hype laid out by his coordinator here, it’ll be Hassan Haskins and Jaret Patterson in a slapfight with Sanders for a final roster spot, not Vidal.