Fantasy Football Week 3 Start 'Em And Sit' Em: Omarion Hampton Vs. Jordan Mason

This week, we'll take a look at Jordan Mason and his increased opportunity with Aaron Jones injured versus second-round rookie Omarion Hampton and his decreased Week 2 workload.

Aug 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Jordan Mason (27) runs with the ball against the Houston Texans in the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Welcome to this week's running back start ‘em and sit’ em decision. 

In this article, we’ll be taking a look at whether fantasy managers should be starting Omarion Hampton against the Denver Broncos or starting Jordan Mason against the Cincinnati Bengals. While both of them are coming off subpar Week 2 fantasy performances, there are other factors at play that we need to dig into.

Shawn Childs has a great Week 3 running back projections article that dives into the numbers behind this decision (and others!), but let’s go through the decision and see if we can come up with our own thoughts on Hampton vs. Mason this week.

RB Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

The rookie second-rounder has shown flashes through two weeks, but the production just hasn’t been there thus far. He’s only put up 72 total rushing yards on 23 carries this season and is averaging just over three yards per carry.

And while two weeks doesn’t make a trend, Hampton’s rushing attempts and yardage outputs were more or less cut in half last week. To make things even worse, he’s not a huge part of the Chargers passing attack and has seen just four targets this season. 

I’m not ready to write off Hampton just yet as the Chargers offensive line isn’t doing him any favors, but it’s also hard to ignore the fact that he and Najee Harris split carries last week. 

The one thing Hampton might have going for him this week (besides his draft pedigree and talent) is the fact that the Broncos have given up 119 rushing yards per week to their opponents. 

The rookie’s situation is a bit murky heading into this week, and as such, Hampton is currently ranked as our RB24 for Week 3. 

RB Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings

Jordan Mason has extremely similar numbers to Hampton on the season. He’s rushed the ball 24 times for 98 total yards (just over four yards per carry), and has seen four total targets. It’s no wonder that we have him ranked as our RB23 for Week 3!

But there is (theoretically) a little more lurking under the surface here. Aaron Jones was just put on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury. And while Zavier Scott and newly-signed Cam Akers could factor into things, this looks like Mason’s backfield.

When Mason was filling in for Christian McCaffrey last year, he put up three 100-plus yard rushing performances in four games and averaged over five yards per carry. I’m not saying that will automatically carry over to his time filling in for a different player on a different team, but it’s worth noting that Mason has the ability to thrive as a feature back. 

While the Bengals aren’t great against the run, they’ve limited their opponents to just 94 rushing yards per game thus far – good for 10th-best in the league. While he should see the majority of the carries in the Vikings backfield, Mason will have his work cut out for him.

The Verdict: Omarion Hampton Vs. Jordan Mason

I’ll be honest. This one is pretty cut-and-dry for me. I think Hampton is the more talented player, but if you take names out of this equation, here’s what we’re left with:

Player A: easier path to 20–plus touches, more proven track record, better offensive line

Player B: seemingly moving into a timeshare, less proven track record, worse offensive line

I’m locking in Player A (Jordan Mason) over Player B (Omarion Hampton) for Week 3.