Alvin Kamara is undoubtedly the greatest running back in New Orleans Saints history; he recently passed Mark Ingram as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. There’s also no doubt that Kamara is one of the greatest running backs of his era and one of the most talented running backs of all time. His versatile ability as a runner and a receiver puts him in an elite class with guys like Marshall Faulk, Roger Craig, and Christian McCaffrey.
However, for as great as Kamara’s career has been, there’s one thing he hasn’t accomplished, that nearly all great running backs have. That’s rushing for 1,000 yards in a single season. While Kamara has surpassed 1,000 scrimmage yards in every season, including this one already, he has never had 1,000 rushing yards alone.
The veteran running back is finally on pace to change that with six games remaining in the regular season for New Orleans.
Alvin Kamara is on pace to finally surpass 1000 rushing yards in Saints’ final six games
Despite dealing with numerous injuries, including a broken hand and broken ribs, Kamara hasn’t missed a game this season. Playing all 11 games, he currently has 183 carries for 782 yards and six touchdowns. Those numbers are already better than his rushing production a season ago when he played 13 games.
He’s currently averaging 71.1 rushing yards a game— the best mark of his career —and that puts him on pace for 1,209 yards if he plays every game. That means he has some room to spare in his pursuit of 1,000 rushing yards.
While it’s surprising Kamara has never rushed for 1K in a season, it’s not surprising he’s finally likely to do so this season. When New Orleans hired Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator, everyone assumed he’d help Kamara go to an even higher level. Kubiak values the run game, and he spent last season with the San Francisco 49ers, when Christian McCaffrey had the best season of his career.
Kubiak has delivered for Kamara, and Kamara has delivered for the Saints. Now, in the final six games, the star running back has the chance to add another accolade to his resume.