Top 25 Saints of 2020: No. 3, Alvin Kamara
It's almost go time for the New Orleans Saints, as they're set to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. We saw the NFL kick Week 1 off on Thursday night with the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs setting the tone against the visiting Texans. Sean Payton's squad is certainly looking for a good showing to start the season, but it's going to look very different without fans in attendance.
We took a small break from looking at the Top Saints of 2020, but with NFL Kickoff right around the corner, it's time to finish the list.
The Countdown
- No. 25, Latavius Murray | No. 24, Taysom Hill | No. 23, C.J. Gardner-Johnson
- No. 22, Malcom Brown | No. 21, Marcus Williams | No. 20, Deonte Harris
- No. 19, Andrus Peat | No. 18, Cesar Ruiz | No. 17, Janoris Jenkins
- No. 16, Thomas Morstead | No. 15, Wil Lutz | No. 14, Marcus Davenport
- No. 13, Erik McCoy | No. 12, David Onyemata | No. 11, Malcolm Jenkins
- No. 10, Emmanuel Sanders | No. 9, Jared Cook | No. 8, Marshon Lattimore
- No. 7, Terron Armstead | No. 6, Ryan Ramczyk | No. 5, Demario Davis
- No. 4, Cam Jordan
No. 3 - Alvin Kamara
2019 was a relatively down season for Alvin Kamara, but there was a good reason for it. Kamara, who still finished with 1,330 yards from scrimmage, played through a painful MCL injury suffered in Week 6 of the season. However, he chose to play for his team. He finished out as Pro Football Focus' 32nd overall running back at 68.9, a clear career-low for the former Tennessee Volunteer.
"That was something I was dealing with the whole season, had to miss some time, which I don't like to do, came back, tried to play as best I could, (and) tried to manage it throughout the week. Our training staff did the best they could, shout out to those guys because they were working with me behind the scenes every day trying to get me as close to 100 percent or as close to AK feeling like myself as I could. I tried to put my best product out on the field and sometimes it was enough, sometimes it wasn't, but I just didn't want to let my team down."
Kamara started the year strong, demonstrating how ready he was to be the featured back for the Saints early on. When the team lost Drew Brees, Kamara stepped up in a huge way in the Week 3 road game against the Seahawks. It was one of his best games of the year, and a small sample of what he can do when completely healthy. Although he dealt with the injury and wasn't as effective, Kamara eventually 'was back' when he found his groove again against the Titans in Week 16.
Kamara ended up making the Pro Bowl for a third-straight season, coincidentally finishing with another 81-catch campaign. He put up 797 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground, while finishing with 533 receiving yards and a score on the 81 receptions.
Kamara's Outlook in 2020
Alvin Kamara is 'the guy' running the ball for the Saints offense in 2020. Whether a contract extension gets done prior to the team's first game remains to be seen, but it shouldn't matter, as Kamara is in for a killer year. When completely healthy, there is fewer backs better to exploit mismatches and help the offense move the ball down the field. Kamara is sure to see some of his carries go to Latavius Murray, but should be in for at least 60 percent of the team's offensive snaps this season.
The Saints offense is very lethal, with even more weaponry for Drew Brees to use this season. You can't just focus on Michael Thomas, as Emmanuel Sanders looks to be a huge part of the plans in 2020. You also have to account for other weapons like Jared Cook, Taysom Hill, Tre'Quan Smith, and several others. Kamara is going to get his chance to shine, and looks to return to a better combination of his first two seasons.
