New Orleans Saints: 3 Players that must shine vs. Bears in Week 7

1. Latavius Murray

Last but certainly not least is a player that we haven’t seen much from this season. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara were a two-man show in the Saints backfield last season. With Ingram now in Baltimore, the duty fell to Kamara and he hasn’t quite lived up to our hopes. With an injury keeping him from playing, the responsibility falls to Latavius Murray.

While we haven’t heard much from Murray, he had an excellent game against Jacksonville. He finished the game with 44 yards, a high this season, along with three receptions for 35 yards. His stats obviously aren’t out-of-this-world but are pretty good for a backup. With Kamara out against the Bears, it’s time for Murray to step up and show that he’s more than just a backup.

Similar to the tandem between Ingram and Kamara, Murray is a little more experienced. He’s also bigger than Kamara, making him more of a bulldozing back. That’s going to be good as the Bears defense is incredibly large and fast. Having Murray as their lead back will hopefully help reinvigorate the Saints running game and give Teddy Bridgewater a break. It’s not going to be easy to gain yards, but Murray has proven himself capable.

With Kamara likely out, it’s going to be Murray’s time to shine. Last week, we got a taste of what he can do so this week will hopefully be explosive. Either way, having Murray on the field is a good insurance policy with both Kamara and Brees out.