Instant analysis of Chargers drafting RB Kimani Vidal

Travis Wakeman

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Instant analysis of Chargers drafting RB Kimani Vidal image

The Los Angeles Chargers needed another running back to go with the Baltimore Ravens exports they brought in. Prior to the draft, I created a list of running backs the team could sign to replace Austin Ekeler and Vidal was on that list as potentially the closest they could get to him. 

Like Ekeler, Vidal is diminutive at 5-foot-7 and like Ekeler, he does not shy away from a heavy workload as evidenced by his 781 career carries in college which helped him become the all-time leading rusher in Troy history. 

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Unlike Ekeler, he is the great-nephew of one of the best baseball players of all-time and former home run king, Hank Aaron. 

 

He can double as a weapon out of the backfield and should be terrific in the offense that Jim Harbaugh is going to install. In the sixth round after 180 other players were already taken, Vidal is great value for the Chargers. 

There isn't much to dislike about this choice. 

Grade: A

Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman Photo

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.