Alvin Kamara is just sitting out there on waivers in my dynasty league. It makes sense because he turns 31 years old next month and the Saints gave Travis Etienne a big contract in free agency. And yet, at some point I'm going to have to find a roster spot to pick him up.
There's not much future in him. It's still possible the Saints will cut or trade him, and not necessarily to a team where he'll have much of a role.
But the longer he remains on the roster, the more chance he'll become a viable option in PPR leagues. Saints beat writers are viewing him as the No. 2 behind Etienne, and if so he'll probably get most of the chances in the passing game. He's been effective, more so than the new starter, the past few years.
Over the past three seasons, 32 running backs have had at least 100 passes thrown their way. Only seven have a better catch rate than Kamara. Only six have a worse catch rate than Etienne. Those numbers can be impacted by things like quarterback play, depth of target and so forth, but fair to say that Kamara should be favored in this area. That's a negative for those hoping for a full-time workload for Etienne, and a positive for those in deeper leagues who'd like a serviceable PPR option at the position who will be available late in drafts. Or on the waiver wire, as is the case in my dynasty league.
| RUNNING BACK CATCH RATES, 2023-2025 (MINIMUM 100 TARGETS) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | No | Rec | TD | Pct |
| Rachaad White, T.B. | 172 | 155 | 1,160 | 9 | 90.1 |
| Samaje Perine, Cin. | 112 | 95 | 864 | 1 | 84.8 |
| Kenneth Walker, Sea. | 126 | 106 | 840 | 2 | 84.1 |
| Jaylen Warren, Pitt. | 166 | 139 | 1,013 | 2 | 83.7 |
| Kenneth Gainwell, Pitt. | 144 | 119 | 785 | 3 | 82.6 |
| James Cook, Buff. | 132 | 109 | 994 | 8 | 82.6 |
| DeVon Achane, Mia. | 209 | 172 | 1,277 | 13 | 82.3 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 214 | 176 | 1,195 | 3 | 82.2 |
| Tyjae Spears, Ten. | 155 | 127 | 873 | 2 | 81.9 |
| Zach Charbonnet, Sea. | 116 | 95 | 693 | 1 | 81.9 |
| Chuba Hubbard, Car. | 137 | 112 | 627 | 4 | 81.8 |
| Chase Brown, Cin. | 168 | 137 | 953 | 10 | 81.5 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | 129 | 103 | 751 | 3 | 79.8 |
| Christian McCaffrey, S.F. | 231 | 184 | 1,634 | 14 | 79.7 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs, Det. | 228 | 181 | 1,449 | 10 | 79.4 |
| Rico Dowdle, Car. | 121 | 95 | 690 | 6 | 78.5 |
| Tony Pollard, Ten. | 165 | 129 | 755 | 0 | 78.2 |
| Justice Hill, Balt. | 117 | 91 | 758 | 5 | 77.8 |
| Jerome Ford, Cle. | 138 | 107 | 647 | 5 | 77.5 |
| Josh Jacobs, G.B. | 141 | 109 | 920 | 2 | 77.3 |
| D'Andre Swift, Chi. | 149 | 115 | 899 | 2 | 77.2 |
| Breece Hall, NYJ | 219 | 169 | 1,424 | 8 | 77.2 |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 109 | 83 | 667 | 4 | 76.1 |
| Bijan Robinson, Atl. | 261 | 198 | 1,738 | 9 | 75.9 |
| Joe Mixon, | 116 | 88 | 685 | 4 | 75.9 |
| Travis Etienne, Jac. | 177 | 133 | 1,022 | 7 | 75.1 |
| Javonte Williams, Dall. | 179 | 134 | 711 | 4 | 74.9 |
| Aaron Jones, Min. | 146 | 109 | 840 | 4 | 74.7 |
| Austin Ekeler, Was. | 122 | 91 | 840 | 1 | 74.6 |
| Kyren Williams, LAR | 138 | 102 | 669 | 8 | 73.9 |
| Tyrone Tracy, NYG | 101 | 74 | 572 | 3 | 73.3 |
| Saquon Barkley, Phi. | 153 | 111 | 831 | 8 | 72.5 |
The Saints last year were middle-of-the-pack in terms of receptions by running backs. The previous season, only two teams had more. That was a different offense, so not a given they'll return to those heights. But I think above-average for running back receptions relative to other teams is likely, and Kamara will be the main beneficiary. Can't be written off in PPR formats.
--Andy Richardson
