For seven weeks, the Los Angeles Chargers’ backfield has worked like a revolving door, with Omarion Hampton, Keaton Mitchell, and Kimani Vidal trading series in a rotation that has raised more questions than it has gained yards.

Now the Chargers are 0-7, the Houston Texans are coming to town, and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is finally hinting that the second-year back could be handed the keys.

Speaking Thursday, McDaniel said the coaching staff had given “strong consideration and conversation” to reshaping the rotation, and it was clear who he had in mind.

He said he was “excited about someone dictating the rotation,” praised Hampton for a strong week of preparation, and said the former first-round pick was plainly hungry for the ball.

Those remarks followed comments from Jim Harbaugh on Monday, when the head coach said the staff was weighing whether to let one back carry most of the load and that they would try it.

The “hot hand” approach McDaniel laid out in training camp sounded reasonable in August, but in practice it has kept all three backs from settling into a groove.

Hampton still leads the room with 89 carries, 308 yards, three touchdowns, and 201 offensive snaps, yet he hasn’t had 15 or more rushing attempts in a game since Week 3.

His high-water mark is still the 23-carry outing against the Raiders in Week 2, and his share of the backfield work has swung wildly from week to week since then.

According to Pro Football Focus, Chargers running backs have averaged just 2.9 yards per attempt since Week 5, and last Sunday’s loss to the Rams was a low point, with the team managing only 64 yards on 25 rushes.

Hampton finished with 20 yards on nine carries, Vidal added 23 yards on eight attempts, and Mitchell had six yards on four tries. With the work split that way, nobody got enough carries to wear down the defense.

At 6 feet and 220 pounds, he brings the kind of downhill physicality that tends to get more effective as the game goes on.

McDaniel’s wide-zone system also depends on backs who can press the edge, read their blocks patiently, and punish defenders who overpursue.

That approach rarely works in small doses because the cutback lanes and second-level runs only open up after a defense has had to respect the same runner repeatedly.

A steadier ground game would also take real pressure off Justin Herbert, who has gotten very little help from the running game this season.

If Hampton can turn first downs into manageable second-and-short situations, McDaniel’s play-action and motion concepts become far more dangerous, and the offense could start to look like the one the Chargers had in mind when they hired him in January.

Houston comes in at 2-5 and is fresh off its bye so that nothing will come easily. Still, for a team searching for its first win, giving its most talented runner the chance to set the tone may be the clearest way to get one.