Alvin Kamara is a running back for the New Orleans Saints, and played college football at the University of Tennessee. Prior to playing at Tennessee, Kamara joined Alabama as a member of its 2013 recruiting class. He then transferred to Hutchinson Community College for the 2014 season after Alabama head coach Nick Saban suspended Kamara for behavioral issues. Kamara was a five-star JUCO transfer when he transferred to Tennessee. In two years as a Vol, he rushed for a 210-1294-16 line, also catching 74 passes for 683 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Saints made Alvin Kamara the 67th overall draft pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, and he immediately ascended to stardom. He carries the distinct honor of being the first running back in NFL history to post 500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in each of his first four seasons. Kamara is also tied with running back Ernie Nevers for the most rushing touchdowns in a single game (6).
In addition, Kamara was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2017, and has twice been named Second-team All-Pro. He has also been voted to the Pro Bowl in each of his five seasons in the league. He was the fantasy RB1 in 2020, averaging 25.2 fantasy points per game.
Kamara has been a mainstay in the Saints’ offense for years. Finding multiple ways to score whether by land or by air, former head coach Sean Payton regularly deployed Kamara to find paydirt and put points on the board. Having never finished worse than a fantasy ranking of RB13 in fantasy points per game. He averages just over 250 total touches per year, and surprisingly has less wear and tear than other running backs most would regard as elite in both real and fantasy football.
Having said that, Kamara's efficiency metrics have begun to wane in the last two seasons. While his targets in the pass game have dwindled too since the retirement of Drew Brees, Derek Carr was willing to target him 86 times at least in 2023. Kamara is set to pair with Carr once again in 2024 and will be the lead back in New Orleans for at least one more year. His best days are clearly behind him, but he will be a borderline top 15 running back again based on volume alone.
