Saints Draft Outlook: Running Back

The Saints haven't drafted a running back since 2018. Could this be the year that changes?

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Apr 14, 2023 9:43 AM EDT

In this story:

We're less than two weeks away from the NFL Draft, and we'll soon know how the Saints tackle some of their needs. We're looking at each position group for New Orleans leading up to the draft, assessing the likelihood of selecting a prospect at the position, also giving some potential prospects at each level. We started with the quarterback spot, and now focus on the running backs.

Current Depth Chart: Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Eno Benjamin, Dwayne Washington, Derrick Gore, Adam Prentice

Draft Prospect Outlook

Day 1 Options: Bijan Robinson (Texas)
Day 2 Options: Jahmyr Gibbs (Alabama), Tyjae Spears (Tulane), Zach Charbonnet (UCLA), Zach Evans (Ole Miss), Chase Brown (Illinois)
Day 3 Options: Kendre Miller (TCU), Devon Achane (TAMU), Eric Gray (Oklahoma), Tank Bigsby (Auburn), DeWayne McBride (UAB), Kenny McIntosh (Georgia), Roschon Johnson (Texas)
Priority UDFAs: SaRodorick Thompson (Texas Tech), Tavion Thomas (Utah), Rasheen Ali (Marshall), Darius Hagans (Virginia State)

THE CASE FOR DRAFTING: This is a fairly rich draft class when it comes to the running back position. There are certainly more important needs to address at No. 29 and No. 40, but anything past that seems fair game for New Orleans to look at taking a talented back. It'd be hard not seeing the Saints grab a running back, with many liking the idea of local favorite Tyjae Spears staying put in New Orleans.

One of the big things to weigh out here is that the Alvin Kamara legal situation is going to linger into training camp. The expectation is still that he'll face some sort of league discipline this season. However, the other part of that expectation is that he'll still be playing games for the Saints in 2023. It's also worth mentioning that Kamara turns 28 in July. We're not saying that they should think replacement right now, but he's someone that really needs to have a strong rebound season after last year.

Depth last year left a lot to the imagination for the Saints. Going into training camp, they had Kamara and Mark Ingram as their top two options, and then had Tony Jones Jr., Dwayne Washington, Devine Ozigbo, and Abram Smith battling things out. You know the rest of the story there. Those types of things shouldn't be left to chance.

THE CASE FOR NOT DRAFTING: If New Orleans really doesn't believe anything will happen to Kamara, then this might make a bit more sense. Jamaal Williams will be more than capable of handling a starting role in his absence, but also makes a formidable one-two punch with Kamara. We also looked at Eno Benjamin being someone who is under the radar going into this season, so that could be an outside thought process.

Just about every round offers some great upside, but one thing sticks out from our talks with Mickey Loomis at the Scouting Combine not so long ago.

"In particular, the last couple of years we had some guys targeted and they went, and then you're not dropping down too far to justify taking the guy in that round," Loomis said.

He mentioned that the Saints went into last year and the year before with the intent of drafting a running back, and that the middle rounds made the most sense. However, there wasn't a running back that was worth the pick or there was a player in another position that was graded so much higher that the team never expected to get and they would draft them. The last time they did draft a running back was in 2018 when they took Boston Scott in the 6th Round.

The Saints could end up being in a similar boat this season if they don't draft a running back, simply not having a high enough grade on a player to draft them when they feel like they could get better value at another position.