New Orleans Saints: 3 reasons Cam Newton could be a Drew Brees’ heir
Cam Newton’s running ability could give Payton the QB of his dreams.
It was rumored that Sean Payton absolutely loved draft pick Lamar Jackson out of the University of Louisville. Lamar has now proven to not only be a Super Bowl contender but an NFL MVP contender too.
That is in part to the amount of versatility you have with a quarterback of Jackson’s nature.
The ability to run the ball as a quarterback and have success at it was made most popular in recent years by former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.
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Since then, we have seen quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, and Deshaun Watson all thrive as “dual-threat” quarterbacks.
Between 2011 and 2017, with the exception of one year, Newton has run for over 500 yards per season.
To put that into perspective, Alvin Kamara has rushed for just over 500 yards this season. Newton’s most coming in 2017 when he ran for 754 yards and 6 touchdowns. In his rookie season, Newton rushed for 14 touchdowns.
His last season before this mediocre injury-ridden one in 2018, Newton threw for 3,395 and 24 touchdowns and ran for 488 yards and 4 touchdowns in 14 games. Drew Brees only threw for 3,992 yards last season in 15 games and rushed for 22 yards.
The versatility that Newton brings to the table is something that New Orleans has only seen recently in a glimpse of backup Teddy Bridgewater.