Remember the days when the Saints backfield looked like it was going to be extremely crowded in 2023? The Saints had added last year’s scrimmage touchdowns leader in Jamaal Williams and drafted the dynamic (and Faraz-approved) Kendre Miller out of TCU - and that was before the Saints knew they would be without Kamara for the first three games. But when Jamaal Williams went down with his hamstring injury and Kendre Miller was unable to stay healthy enough to turn momentum into an established role for himself in the Saints’ backfield, Alvin Kamara was already ready to retake his post as the lead back in New Orleans. And boy, has he been a massive value so far.
Since making his 2023 season debut in Week 4, Kamara has profiled as a true bell cow running back. His 52 rush attempts over a three-game span are sixth in the NFL among all RBs, and he’s earned the most targets (25) and registered the highest target share (21.6%) of any running back in that span, as well. He’s also run the third-most routes of any player at the position, as well.
That incredible utilization translates to a fantastic 22.5 expected points per game for the veteran RB, a number that he’s got room to grow into if he continues to see this type of workload. He’s currently the RB8 in true fantasy points per game (19.2), which indicates that he could still be slightly underperforming on the volume he’s received. Regardless, if you picked him up in drafts this past summer at a discount, you’re reaping the rewards with back to back to back RB1 performances.