Hard to believe, but Alvin Kamara can't be written off just yet. He's old and expensive and the Saints have a new coaching staff, but Kamara will probably continue to be a factor. In PPR leagues, anyway.
Kamara turns 30 in July, and over the past four years he's averaged under 4.0 yards per attempt (compared to 5.0 his first four seasons). But the Saints haven't found a viable replacement, and what Kamara does in the passing game keeps him in the discussion as a strong choice for fantasy teams.
Over the past four years, Kamara has averaged 62 rushing yards, with a touchdown about every other game. Neither stat puts him in the top 12 among running backs who have started at least half the time in those seasons. The offensive line has declined, they've had aging gadget Taysom Hill around to fall into the end zone for some of the touchdowns, and the team just isn't very good.
But Kamara in those same four years averages 4.5 catches for 35 yards per game. Only two running backs have been better than him in either category, and those guys (Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler) have age and injury concerns of their own. Factoring in that receiving production, Kamara grades out as the 5th-best running back in PPR leagues over the past four years. Table shows per-game numbers for running backs who've played starter-type snaps at least half the time since 2021.
| RUNNING BACKS PER GAME, 2021-2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | Run | No | Rec | Total | TD | PPR |
| Christian McCaffrey | 43 | 74.5 | 4.7 | 41.2 | 115.7 | .84 | 21.3 |
| Austin Ekeler | 50 | 51.2 | 4.7 | 38.0 | 89.2 | .95 | 19.4 |
| Derrick Henry | 58 | 95.9 | 1.7 | 16.5 | 112.4 | .92 | 18.5 |
| Jonathan Taylor | 50 | 96.1 | 2.0 | 14.6 | 110.7 | .88 | 18.3 |
| Alvin Kamara | 55 | 62.5 | 4.5 | 35.2 | 97.8 | .51 | 17.3 |
| Saquon Barkley | 59 | 82.6 | 2.9 | 19.6 | 102.2 | .69 | 17.3 |
| Joe Mixon | 61 | 66.7 | 3.1 | 23.6 | 90.3 | .81 | 17.0 |
| Josh Jacobs | 62 | 75.1 | 2.9 | 22.4 | 97.5 | .69 | 16.8 |
| Breece Hall | 40 | 58.3 | 3.8 | 32.3 | 90.6 | .58 | 16.3 |
| James Conner | 57 | 64.4 | 2.8 | 22.0 | 86.4 | .78 | 16.1 |
| Kenneth Walker | 37 | 64.4 | 2.6 | 19.2 | 83.5 | .68 | 15.0 |
| James Cook | 38 | 62.6 | 2.3 | 20.3 | 82.9 | .68 | 14.7 |
| Aaron Jones | 60 | 61.9 | 3.2 | 23.8 | 85.7 | .46 | 14.5 |
| David Montgomery | 57 | 60.4 | 2.2 | 18.9 | 79.2 | .67 | 14.2 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 39 | 55.5 | 2.4 | 14.1 | 69.6 | .77 | 14.0 |
| D'Andre Swift | 59 | 53.6 | 3.2 | 24.4 | 78.1 | .47 | 13.8 |
| Najee Harris | 68 | 63.4 | 2.6 | 16.9 | 80.3 | .50 | 13.7 |
| Travis Etienne | 44 | 56.3 | 2.8 | 21.0 | 77.2 | .45 | 13.2 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | 45 | 55.7 | 3.1 | 18.7 | 74.4 | .44 | 13.2 |
| Tony Pollard | 64 | 59.5 | 2.7 | 19.6 | 79.2 | .40 | 13.0 |
| Chuba Hubbard | 46 | 62.8 | 2.2 | 13.6 | 76.4 | .51 | 12.9 |
| Antonio Gibson | 36 | 48.3 | 2.8 | 19.9 | 68.3 | .45 | 12.4 |
| Devin Singletary | 47 | 55.9 | 2.4 | 15.6 | 71.4 | .43 | 12.1 |
| Brian Robinson | 40 | 57.7 | 1.6 | 14.7 | 72.4 | .51 | 11.9 |
| Miles Sanders | 35 | 65.1 | 1.8 | 10.5 | 75.6 | .41 | 11.8 |
| Javonte Williams | 51 | 46.4 | 3.0 | 17.8 | 64.2 | .33 | 11.3 |
| AJ Dillon | 40 | 47.7 | 1.7 | 15.1 | 62.8 | .38 | 10.3 |
It's a new coaching staff now, with Kellen Moore taking over, and just maybe 2023 third-rounder Kendre Miller is able to stay healthy and carve out a meaningful role. Or maybe the Saints select an impact rookie in a deep draft for the position.
But until we see it happen, seems like Kamara will continue to be the featured back and main weapon in the passing game. He'll be coming at an age and injury discount, but at some point in PPR drafts, he'll need to be selected. And probably put up viable numbers, too.
--Andy Richardson