Saints Player Rankings: Three-time Pro Bowl RB Alvin Kamara first to crack top five

One of the cornerstones to the offense comes in at number 5. Saints’ star Alvin Kamara, 24, has managed to collect over 1,300 yards of scrimmage in each year he’s played despite only started in 9 games last season.

Alvin Kamara’s rushing stats will never blow you away, but once you combine them with his receiving stats, it’s hard to find many more versatile running backs in the league. The young back was the Saints’ third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

At just 24 years old, the RB out of the University of Tennessee has managed to become one of Drew Brees’ favorite weapons and has been a key piece to the team’s success during the regular season.

He was at the time of being drafted expected to learn behind former starting RB Mark Ingram in his rookie season; however, Kamara impressed in every chance he got, earning himself split snaps with Ingram and eventually establishing himself as their true RB1 on the team.

In his rookie season, Kamara finished 6th in the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,554. His teammate, Mark Ingram finished 7th with 1,540 yards.

As both a runner and receiver, Alvin Kamara has found success all around the field. Throughout his career, the elusive back has managed to create on average 6.1 yards per touch including 7.7 yards per touch on average his rookie year.

Kamara also has a nose for the end zone, totaling 37 touchdowns in just 3 seasons.

Though Alvin Kamara’s 40-yard dash wouldn’t blow you away, he makes up for it with his elusiveness and juke abilities. Pro Football Focus graded Kamara as the 4th most elusive back in the league.

He is a matchup nightmare and it is rare to find someone who can tackle Kamara to the ground consistently.

"Alvin Kamara ranked the fourth-most elusive RB by PFF"

The biggest question mark with Alvin Kamara going into the 2020 season is how well will he be able to bounce back after having an injury-riddled 2019 year in which he had career lows in total touchdowns, total yards, receiving yards, and yards per touch.

Kamara had suffered some injuries to both his knee and ankle, causing him to drop in production.

It’s easy to assume however a fully healthy Alvin Kamara will immediately bounce back and once again prove he is a top running back in this league due to his young age. Backup Latavius Murray will be very important to Kamara, as Murray can take snaps and let Alvin Kamara go back to the versatile, dominant weapon he is.

If he does in fact bounce back, the Saints will once again have one of their most formidable weapons available, which will be key to their long-term success.

Among our 12 writers, Kamara’s average rank was 5.5. He came immediately after Demario Davis.