New Orleans Saints: Alvin Kamara continues to make huge impact

The New Orleans Saints found a gem near the top of the 3rd round of the 2017 NFL Draft in Alvin Kamara, who just keeps making plays…

The New Orleans Saints no longer have Darren Sproles, and they no longer have Reggie Bush. Their offense doesn’t feature guys like Marques Colston and Lance Moore, Devery Henderson and Jimmy Graham.

This Saints offense has evolved, the only real constant remaining Drew Brees. But Brees has new reinforcements, and a group around him that is seemingly as talented as ever. One player that continues to make a significant impact on the Saints’ stellar season to this point is rookie running back Alvin Kamara, one of the best dual-threat backs in this year’s draft.

Kamara showed off his skills at Tennessee, though sparsely it seemed. He had just four games with 100 yards rushing over the past two seasons, and never a single game where he received 20 or more carries out of the backfield.

While the Saints aren’t complaining about his fresh legs, it’s more than a bit shocking that a player of his caliber wasn’t utilized more or, dare I say better.

The Saints are using Kamara extremely well, although they aren’t running him into the ground. Their duo of Mark Ingram and Kamara has been exceptional this season, never more so than this past weekend in a road game against the Buffalo Bills, where they combined for 294 rushing yards as a unit with six touchdowns.

Kamara’s contributions included 12 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown to go along with five receptions for 32 yards. It was his first 100 yard rushing game in the NFL and his second straight game with over 130 yards from scrimmage.

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It was also Kamara’s third straight game with at least one touchdown, bringing his season total to six. He has given the Saints the Sproles-like spark offensively they have been missing, and is giving this already dynamic New Orleans offense a completely different wrinkle.

Kamara’s average of nearly eight yards per touch is astounding given how young he is, but should we really be surprised? He averaged around eight yards per touch this past year at Tennessee, and is virtually the same player for the Saints.

Everything seems to be falling into place for New Orleans, and it’s because of young players like Kamara stepping up and playing their roles so well. The Saints are on track to become this year’s division champion in the NFC South, and potentially the third straight NFC South representative of the NFC in the Super Bowl.

If they get there, this young back will be a critical reason why.