We are currently 100 days away from the New Orleans Saints officially begin the Kellen Moore Era. The Saints kick off the season in Week 1 versus the Arizona Cardinals. We're going to countdown the days with our "Countdown to Kickoff" series.
In the first edition, we'll take a look at the players who crossed the century mark on the ground or receiving last season. It didn't take long to round up the collection of players who achieved this feat.
Alvin Kamara is the lone runner to top 100 yards
This comes as no real surprise. Calling Alvin Kamara the heartbeat of the rushing attack would be an understatement. Despite missing the last three games of the year, Kamara led the team with 228 carries. That's 180 more than the next closest runner, Jamaal Williams.
Kamara ran for over 100 yards three times last season, but only one of those games resulted in a Saints victory. Kamara's 115 rushing yards against the Dallas Cowboys was a key factor in the highest moment of the Saints 2024 campaign.
The Saints victory over Dallas had all Saints fans believing Klint Kubiak's offense would be a force to be reckoned with. That belief was quickly dashed, but in Week 2, the Saints were on a high. Kamara looked like he'd go on to have an elite season in one of the most praised rushing systems in the NFL.
Kamara was on pace to cross 1000 yards until he was kept out due to injury, but stacked boxes and injuries accross the offense held Kamara to only two more 100-yard rushing games. He totaled 155 yards versus the Panthers and 112 yards versus the Rams. The Saints lost both of those games.
Chris Olave and Marquez Valdes-Scantling tie for most 100-yard receiving games by Saints WR
The passing attack was bad last year, and injuries played a big part. Rashid Shaheed came close to joining this club with his 96 yards versus the Cowboys, but only Olave and Valdes-Scantling actually made it to triple digits.
Olave saw his most targets and catches against the Los Angeles Chargers. He finished the game with 107 yards on 8 catches. That was his first game back from concussion protocol. Unfortunately for Olave, he suffered another concussion the following week that ended his season.
Once Olave and Shaheed were out of the picture, Valdes-Scantling was brought in to be the Saints' top wide receiver. It took him a game to get his legs underneath him, but in his second game the wideout had 109 yards and two touchdowns on three catches against the Falcons. That was the most yards by a Saints receiver that year and was highlighted by a 67 yard touchdown catch.