3 plays that prove Alvin Kamara is Rookie of the Year

Alvin Kamara is the Offensive Rookie of the Year and it’s not even close.

As the NFL season winds down, it’s more than just the playoff race that is taking shape. Strong candidates to win yearly awards are starting to separate themselves from the pack, and Alvin Kamara is leading the charge.

Carson Wentz or Tom Brady will win MVP seems to be a lock, but that’s still a two-horse race. Alvin Kamara is the Offensive Rookie of the Year and he’s about to lap the competition. At one point it looked like Kareem Hunt would be in line to win the award, but the Chiefs woes have hurt his production.

Kamara has gone in the opposite direction, and in doing so has proven to mean more to his team than we thought.

Twice on Sunday, he made plays that were ridiculous and aided the Saints in staying in a playoff-level contest with the Rams.

Those two plays perfectly highlight the grit of Kamara’s rookie season. He’s not running like a first-year back, rather he’s reminiscent of Jamaal Charles the way he’s stronger and quicker than you’d expect.

Lest we forget this play from last week where Kamara single handily brought the Saints back into a game they had no business winning.

Those are just plays from the last two weeks. Kamara’s impact extends beyond just highlights. Kamara is averaging 8.1 yards per touch on 123 touches this season, which is something that no running back in the last quarter-century has been able to do.

Combined with Mark Ingram, Kamara has been essential to the Saints turnaround this season. Together they are the only teammates in the Super Bowl era to each have at least 1,000 scrimmage yards & eight touchdowns in a team’s first 11 games of a season. The tandem harkens back to the glory days of the Saints where Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush were helping the team win a Super Bowl.

Kamara’s overall impact with the Saints this year has been more than we ever thought it could be. The argument could be made that he’s helping to extend Drew Brees’ career. At the very least he’s filling a Darren Sproles dual-threat role that is contributing to his revival this season.

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Being Rookie of the Year is more than just making the best statistical case (which Kamara has). It’s about being the most valuable rookie to your team, and after less than a full season, it’s clear that Kamara is irreplaceable.