Kendre Miller is slowly but surely forming the two headed monster next to Alvin Kamara that New Orleans Saints have been waiting for. All it took was moving to a new regime under Kellen Moore and, fingers crossed, staying healthy.
Moore gave the young running back a much needed clean slate, and Miller has proved that to be the correct approach through five games. Talent was always apparent with Miller. From the pure eye test, the third year player simply looks different running the ball. His burst, contact balance and agility is clear. The only problem is it hasn't been paired with sustained health, until now.
Miller has played in five consecutive games. That's the most since his rookie year, which saw him play in seven straight games. In that stretch, however, Miller played less than 10 snaps in four of the seven games. This year, he's seen his usage rate steadily climb each week. He's played 20 snaps in each of the last three games.
Kendre Miller is preparing to take over from Alvin Kamara as the Saints lead running back
There's been a lot of conversation around veterans being usurped for younger players. Isaac Yiadom for Quincy Riley. Pete Werner for Danny Stutsman. Jonas Sanker was pushed into the lineup after a surprise retirement and sudden injury. The campaigning for Stutsman and Riley were about poor performance from vets. Miller, like Sanker, may ascend due to circumstance.
Alvin Kamara is the Saints top back for 2025, but at 30 years old, the question of when will he call it quits will always be right there. There's also the idea of potentially trading off veterans that looms around the Saints' 2025 outlook.
Both of the hypotheticals lend itself to Kendre Miller taking over the mantle from Kamara. This isn't to rush the process. It does feel like 2025 is an audition for Miller. He's serving as one half of a running back duo, and late carries in Week 5 gave him the most carries and yards on the team.
The fact Miller has played a higher percentage of snaps every week is a sign of Coach Moore's growing confidence in Miller. He's delivering right now. The biggest part of the audition is staying healthy. If he can do that, you may see him transition into the bellcow as early as late this season and certainly next year.
That would free up Kamara to be used with more versatility and put less wear on his body. Might be less quantity from Kamara but his quality and effectiveness may boom because of it. Miller becoming the lead running back doesn't require Kamara to be pushed aside. At his age, though, having someone who could be the next guy doesn't hurt. Miller looks like he could be that somebody.