Alvin Kamara taking star turn as headliner in Saints' talented rookie class
METAIRIE, La. — Alvin Kamara just had to acknowledge the milestone.
His former teammate, Adrian Peterson, logged a career-high 37 carries for the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. So Kamara, the New Orleans Saints' dynamic rookie back, reached out to Peterson.
"I texted him and said, ‘Well, I know you’re in the damn cold tub. For real' " Kamara told Paste BN Sports on Wednesday as the Saints prepared to take their six-game winning streak to Buffalo.
Kamara, a third-round pick from Tennessee, played with Peterson for just four games before the Saints dealt the veteran to Arizona. But clearly the youngster is still connected to "AD," especially when considering his own increased workload since the trade.
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“I knew my role was going to change,” Kamara reflected. “Of course, the snap count was going to change. I knew I was going to have to do more. At the beginning of the season, I wasn’t doing too much pass protection. I knew that was going to change, and I’d get more touches.”
The emergence of Kamara, who leads the NFL with an average of 6 yards per carry, is one reason why Peterson was expendable from a crowded New Orleans backfield that also includes Mark Ingram. Kamara's impact was on full display during Sunday’s thrashing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he had the first multi-touchdown game of his young career. Kamara rushed for 68 yards and a TD on 10 carries and caught six passes for 84 yards, with a scintillating 33-yard TD when he fell to the turf after hurdling a would-be tackle, then sprung to his feet and darted to the end zone.
In four games since the trade, Kamara has 37 rushes and 18 receptions, compared to 15 rushes and 20 catches in the first four games.
“I’m trying to stay in tune and keep growing and learning as much as I can,” he said. “It’s a never-ending process. You feel like you know something, and you can always learn something else about the thing that you think you know.”
Learning on the job for Kamara is part of a larger picture. At the moment, it appears the Saints have the makings of their best draft class since coach Sean Payton’s first season at the helm in 2006. The ’06 class included Reggie Bush, Roman Harper, Jahri Evans, Rob Ninkovich and two notable seventh-rounders, Zach Strief and Marques Colston.
The current crop is headed by first-round cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who's emerging as a defensive rookie of the year candidate. The other first-rounder (the pick obtained in the trade that sent Brandin Cooks to the New England Patriots), Ryan Ramczyk, is starting at right tackle, while second-rounder Marcus Williams starts at free safety. Like Kamara, another third-round pick, defensive end Trey Hendrickson, contributes off the bench.
“This rookie class is doing well,” Payton told Paste BN Sports. “Not because we’re rooting for ‘em. We’re going to play the best players. We’re in the winning business.”
A business that can always use some fresh blood ready to carry the ball.
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Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell
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