New Orleans Saints: Alvin Kamara’s Rookie of the Year case
A third-round pick of the New Orleans Saints, Alvin Kamara has proven he deserves to lead the conversation for the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.
With the NFL well over the halfway point, there’s been a lot of surprises throughout the league. The New Orleans Saints winning streak and continued domination of the NFL is just one. One of the biggest factors and catalysts for that has been Alvin Kamara. The third-round pick the Saints traded up for is one of the most talented and promising rookies of the 2017 class.
That’s why he should be a lock for the NFL’s Offensive Rookie Of The Year award. While other players like Kareem Hunt, DeShaun Watson and Leonard Fournette were solid, Kamara is the biggest asset to his team this year.
Kamara deserves the award because he’s become so valuable to the Saints, especially since forcing the New Orleans front office to part with Adrian Peterson. While we originally all predicted him being low on the depth chart, he proved us all wrong. He started sharing carries between Peterson and Ingram before surpassing Peterson. In some weeks, he’s even passed Ingram in yards and touchdowns.
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It’s a true achievement to see a rookie surpassing a veteran who has been on the team for five-plus years. It’s not a surprise, but it has been for fans and the team. Ingram was supposed to be the guy and he’s sometimes playing second-fiddle to Kamara. Originally, Kamara was supposed to be the third-down back or possibly a garbage time player.
In addition to playing running, Kamara is the team’s lead kick returner and boasts the second-most receptions on the team. Being such a versatile player is a lot of why the Saints have seen so much success. Having Kamara out there gives Brees a lot of options and made him a human highlight reel.
Of all the offensive rookies in the league, Kamara has played the biggest role in helping turn a decent team into a great one. They traded Peterson and got rid of their leading pass-catcher in Brandin Cooks. They’ve gained all that and more with Kamara’s presence. The season isn’t even close to being over for the Saints and there’s so much more we can see out of Kamara. I’m sure a lot of teams are regretting passing over him now.
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Kamara was the missing piece the Saints needed and it’s easy to see why they traded up to get him now. While I can certainly see the case for other players, Kamara should be at the top or at least, close to the top.