Alvin Kamara Fantasy News and Statistics

It took awhile for Alvin Kamara to find his footing. He had a fantastic high school career, being named Mr. Football in the state of Georgia in 2012 after a fabulous senior season for Norcross High School. He was listed as the No. 1 running back in the Class of 2013 by 247 Sports and committed to play under Nick Saban at Alabama. His success as a prep and a collegian led to him getting drafted by the New Orleans Saints

He went to Tuscaloosa with sky-high expectations, but things quickly unraveled for the talented youngster. Kamara was injured in summer practice and had to undergo surgery, sidelining him for months. When he was healthy again, he found himself in Saban’s doghouse for “behavior reasons” and was suspended for the Sugar Bowl.

Kamara made the decision to leave Alabama following that season and enrolled at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. At the junior college level, he showed the talent that made him such a heralded recruit, rushing for 1,211 yards and 18 touchdowns in nine games. Kamara was once again sought after by multiple Power Five schools and decided that Rocky Top was the best fit for him.

It didn’t take long for Kamara to have an impact. In the 2015 season opener, he ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout win over Bowling Green. However, he found himself stuck in the shadow of Jalen Hurd for much of the season and a lot of his carries came in garbage time in blowouts against non-conference opponents.

Kamara was Hurd’s backup at the start of the 2016 season, too. In the Volunteers’ miracle win over Georgia, though, he established himself as the better back, and Hurd hurriedly announced his intention to transfer.

His best game of the 2016 season came in a shootout against Texas A&M. Kamara was phenomenal on the ground, running for 127 yards and two touchdowns, but he was even better catching passes out of the backfield. He tripled his previous career-high for receiving yards in that game, with 161 yards and a score on eight receptions. Despite that success, he never fully won the starting role and split carries with John Kelly over the last half of the season.

At the end of 2016, Kamara announced his intention to declare for the NFL Draft. Although he never ran for more than 700 yards in a season, he showed a lot of potential as a third-down running back and was a very good punt returner, too.

The New Orleans Saints took Kamara in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft with the thought of using him in the same way that they used Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles. He can be utilized as a change-of-pace back from the combination of Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson and should be the team’s primary punt and kick returner.

Kamara has limited value for his rookie season. Barring injury, he is likely to only see the field on third downs or in select packages, but he could have value in PPR formats later in the year as he gets more comfortable with the offense.