I think I’ll probably be drafting Latavius Murray in a lot of leagues. With how the Saints use their running backs, I expect he’ll outperform the No. 1 running backs on some of the league’s lesser teams.

The focus of the New Orleans offense has really shifted the last two years. They’re pounding it nowadays. They’ve scored 23 and 26 rushing touchdowns the last two years. They ranked 5th in rushing in 2017 and 6th last year. That’s a legit running game nowadays.

They also incorporate their running backs heavily in the passing game. Over the last two years, the Saints have completed more passes to running backs than any other team.

Alvin Kamara is the top back there, and I expect he’ll finish with top-5 numbers. He’ll catch 80-plus balls, and he’s a really nice goal-line runner, with his ability to run inside and out. Over the last two years, only Todd Gurley has scored more touchdowns.

But Kamara can’t do it all by himself. They don’t want to pound him into mush. Including his time at Tennessee, Kamara has never run for 900 yards in a season and he’s never averaged 13 rushing attempts per game. With his immense value to the offense and how they’re going to use him as a pass-catcher, it would be silly for them to start feeding him the ball 16-plus times per game as a traditional runner.

Mark Ingram averaged 54 rushing and 14 receiving yards last year, with 7 TDs in 12 games. I think Murray might be capable of the same kind of production. We’ll see how drafts unfold, but my guess is Murray will tend to be selected too low in most leagues.

In PPR leagues, two years in a row the Saints have gotten more total production from their running backs than any other team in the league.

TEAM RUNNING BACK PRODUCTION (2017-2018)
YearTeamRun YdNoRec YdTDRTDPPoints
2017New Orleans2,0151431,254216631.9
2017New England1,795120919169541.4
2018New Orleans1,766109903207537.9
2018New England1,646121999158523.5
2018LA Chargers1,7051071,050157514.5
2017Jacksonville1,92896785163481.3
2018LA Rams1,85570676195467.1
2018Kansas City1,371829221312461.3
2018Chicago1,415102965127454.0
2017Baltimore1,760113690124454.0
2018NY Giants1,525113860124447.5
2017LA Rams1,60374842156444.5
2018Denver1,74695700152441.6
2018Carolina1,303114919107438.2
2017LA Chargers1,49793816107426.3
2017Minnesota1,77984682142426.1
2018Seattle2,09268509151424.1
2018Cleveland1,57982712135419.1
2017San Francisco1,464113845102415.9
2018Detroit1,496116753111412.9
2017Chicago1,53098731113408.1
2018Indianapolis1,58197616123406.7
2017Kansas City1,46290683115400.5
2017Pittsburgh1,57689670113397.6
2018Pittsburgh1,31388752134396.5
2018San Francisco1,7998378163395.0
2017Atlanta1,63068650124392.0
2017Carolina1,2289475297388.0
2018Oakland1,47310783980386.2
2018Baltimore1,65970454143383.3
2018Philadelphia1,43877660124382.8
2018Miami1,5397767077381.9
2017Dallas1,78457542123379.6
2017Cleveland1,21410992363376.7
2017Washington1,2458688566371.0
2018Dallas1,5778864073369.7
2017Buffalo1,5179666572368.2
2017Denver1,6278769962367.6
2018Tennessee1,59274499131367.1
2017NY Jets1,4728670982364.1
2017Oakland1,34887637112363.5
2017Philadelphia1,7875349694359.3
2018Washington1,37081613103357.3
2018Jacksonville1,1409879165357.1
2018Cincinnati1,41383555111351.8
2017NY Giants1,48310560851350.1
2018NY Jets1,43668599102343.5
2018Green Bay1,29972601121340.0
2017Green Bay1,29868499113331.7
2017Detroit1,08382634103331.7
2017Houston1,4916760563330.6
2018Atlanta1,3656847185329.6
2017Cincinnati1,2378175062327.7
2018Arizona1,1537960393326.6
2017Tennessee1,48350402122322.5
2018Minnesota1,2787856382322.1
2017Arizona1,2058473760314.2
2017Indianapolis1,3916254272309.3
2018Houston1,4715038072289.1
2017Tampa Bay1,1686952171285.9
2017Miami1,3207049132281.1
2017Seattle9947974913277.3
2018Buffalo1,2416958840275.9
2018Tampa Bay1,0506943971265.9

—Ian Allan