Alvin Kamara has another great season, but the Saints feature almost nothing behind him.
The New Orleans Saints running back room again featured practically only Alvin Kamara in terms of production in 2024. Kamara had his most productive year since 2020, as he set a career high in rushing yards and had his most rushing touchdowns and best YPC in the last four seasons. Kamara also caught 68 passes for 543 yards and 2 TDs, proving once again that he is one of the best all-around running backs in the NFL, and has been since his rookie year.
Sadly, Kamara’s season ended on a down note, as an unfortunate injury cost him his first career 1,000 yard rushing season as he was forced to miss the final three games of the year. In his absence, no player was able to step up and show more than a few flashes. Kendre Miller had a few good plays here and there, but never gained more than 50 yards in a game and scored just one touchdown. Jamaal Williams was unable to get anything going either, as he gained just 164 yards on 48 carries for the season. The Saints did sign veteran LSU product Clyde Edwards-Helaire at the end of the year to provide depth in Kamara’s absence, and liked what they saw enough to re-sign him for the upcoming season. Williams however, was just released after two unproductive years in New Orleans.
The evidence of the futility of the Saints rushing attack without Kamara can be found in the fact that quarterback Spencer Rattler was the leading rusher in two of the three games that Kamara missed, and that Taysom Hill was the second leading rusher on the team despite playing just eight games.
ALVIN KAMARA MAKES AN UNREAL ONE-HANDED TD CATCH
: #WASvsNO on FOX
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/TCNu3hGx2C— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2024
The Saints may very well look to draft a running back with one of their top 3 picks in the upcoming draft. This is a pretty deep running back draft as well, with productive players like Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson, Cam Skattebo, and Dylan Sampson being potential names to look at past Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty who may be out of reach for the Saints without a trade back in the first round or a trade up from their second round pick back into the first round.
Make sure you follow Canal Street Chronicles on X at @SaintsCSC, “Like” us on Facebook at Canal Street Chronicles, follow us on Instagram at @SaintsCSC, and make sure you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel. As always, you can follow me on X at @Hayden_Reel.