Alvin Kamara now a breakout candidate with Adrian Peterson gone
By Joe Schiller
With Adrian Peterson gone, Saints rookie running back Alvin Kamara is set up to be breakout success the rest of this season.
The New Orleans Saints finally ripped off the band-aid that was Adrian Peterson. A signing made back in late April was never a good fit to begin with for both sides. It was a jumbled mess and the Saints couldn’t go through the entire season with a three-man backfield.
But now that Peterson is out, a brand new door opens for the Saints running game. In comes third-round rookie back Alvin Kamara.
Letting go of Peterson wasn’t an easy decision by any means, but warranted with the way Kamara has played this season. Each week Kamara has become more involved each week and led the offense in touches against the Dolphins in Week 4.
Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael has the opportunity to utilize Kamara as a dual threat weapon in this potent passing game. PPR owners will be drooling over themselves if they were smart enough to hold on to Kamara for this long. There’s no worrying about Peterson staring down Sean Payton on the sidelines anymore. Now all the focus is turned on utilizing this two-back group.
Kamara isn’t a north-south downhill runner that you want between the tackles, but that’s what Mark Ingram is for. Their styles will compliment each other well in the backfield. Whether it’s a lining up in the slot or a screen pass out of the backfield, Kamara is explosive when he gets his hands on the ball. That home run hitting talent certainly isn’t something that just appears in every running back.
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A Saints team that’s riding a two-game winning streak are also riding the success of a talented rookie running back. The ceiling is high for Kamara and he’s got all the tools to be a breakout candidate this season. He can be the all-purpose back the Saints haven’t had since the days of Darren Sproles.