Week 10 vs. Falcons
Kamara missed the two games before the Saints' bye but all signs are pointing toward him returning in Week 10 and he gets a good matchup against the Falcons to get himself back in shape. Don't be surprised, however, if Latavius Murray eats a bit more into Kamara's work this week with Kamara returning from injury and Murray performing very well in the two games Kamara missed. Nonetheless, Kamara should move right back into his role in the passing game and should be back as a top option this week.
Week 7 at Bears
Kamara is coming off one of his worst performances of the season against the Jaguars, as he totaled just 66 yards and seeing a season-low 11 carries. He did have seven catches, salvaging his day in PPR scoring. As it turns out, Kamara was dealing with a "high ankle-type issue" as reported by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Kamara is not expected to practice this week and is questionable at best for Sunday against the Bears, so keep a close eye on the Saints' injury report. Despite the low yards, Kamara is constantly a threat in the passing game, recording seven or more catches in four of his six games this season. That alone makes him still worthy as a top option in fantasy.
Week 6 at Jaguars
Kamara's game plan has seem to come into focus. Carry the ball about 14-16 times a game and see a few targets in the passing game, garnering about 20-25 touches per game. And so far, Kamara has been pretty ho-hum but still garnering about 100 or more total yards in three of his first five games. He now faces a Jaguars team that just got gashed by Christian McCaffrey and ranks in the bottom ten against running backs in fantasy. It's a good bet Kamara sees 100 yards again and finds the end zone for just the third time this season.
Week 5 vs. Buccaneers
There just wasn't a lot of offense to be had against the Cowboys, but that's because both defenses are very good. Kamara still found himself with 20 touches in Week 4 for 72 yards. That said, Tampa Bay has been very stingy against opposing running backs this season. In fact, they have the No. 1 schedule-adjusted fantasy defense against running backs through the first four weeks. Despite that, Kamara is still a top-five running back option this week due to pure talent and his usage in the Saints offense.
Week 4 vs. Cowboys
Kamara simply continues to dominate touches in the Saints' backfield, seeing 25 touches last week against the Seahawks for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Expect that trend to continue, but Dallas sports a very good front seven and held Kamara to just 36 rushing yards when the teams met last season. Nonetheless, Kamara is always a must-start and always an option to explode, no matter who is in at quarterback.
Week 3 at Seahawks
With Drew Brees out, there may be more work and more pressure on Alvin Kamara to help keep the Saints afloat over the next six weeks. And this may be a week where Kamara makes more damage in the passing game than in the rushing game. Seattle held down Joe Mixon and James Conner, despite injury concerns to both, in the first two weeks of the season. But Kamara is too talented to stay quiet and should be more involved in the passing game, after catching just one pass against the Rams on just three targets. Bridgewater should trust Kamara to make plays. We know Sean Payton will.
Week 2 at Rams
Did you see what Christian McCaffrey did last week against the Rams? He only posted 209 total yards, ten catches and two touchdowns. Alvin Kamara will be chomping at the bit to get some for himself. And it's not like Kamara was quiet against the Texans. He had 169 total yards. He'll hope to improve on his 15 rushing yards in the NFC Championship Game but he did have 96 yards on 11 catches. Even with this being the Rams and being on the road, there should be no concerns on Kamara and his usage.
Week 1 vs Texans
Alvin Kamara has yet to reach 1,000 yards rushing in his short two-year career with the Saints. And the Texans were very good against the run in 2018, allowing the third-fewest rushing yards. Only the Bears and Saints allowed less. In that sense, it would seem like Kamara would be entering a tough matchup in Week 1. But there's a reason you drafted him so high during the summer. He will also catch a ton of passes. The Saints will continue to lean heavily on Kamara in all aspects. Kamara comes in at No. 3 in our Week 1 PPR rankings and No. 8 in standard leagues. No need to worry about Kamara at all this week.
Fantasy Upside
In just two short years, Kamara went from a possible change-of-pace running back selected in the third round by the Saints to one of the most explosive backs in the league. On the one hand, Kamara has never reached 1,000 yards rushing. But he's also seen at least 100 targets in each of his first two seasons, hauling in 81 receptions in both 2017 and 2018 and has at least 700 receiving yards in both years. In 2018, Kamara rushed 194 times for 883 yards and 14 touchdowns, which was second only to the 17 scored by the Rams' Todd Gurley. Kamara also added 81 catches for 709 yards and four touchdowns. Kamara caught five passes in eight of the 15 games he played in, including a 15-catch effort in Week 3 against the Falcons. That's almost 1,600 total yards and 18 total touchdowns for the season, which was good for fourth among running backs in fantasy scoring. And that's with Kamara missing Week 17 when the Saints pulled nearly every starter to gear up for the playoffs.
And the best part about all this was Kamara did all this damage while sharing the workload with Mark Ingram, who had 645 rushing yards and six touchdowns himself. As our John Paulsen notes, "in the four games during Mark Ingram’s suspension last season, Kamara averaged 22.8 touches for 153 total yards and 1.5 touchdowns. It was incredible production, but when Ingram returned, Kamara’s workload dropped considerably to 16.7 touches per game." Now, Ingram is in Baltimore. Sure, Latavius Murray is now in New Orleans, but the Saints are going to absolutely continue to ride Kamara as much as they can. As great as Drew Brees is, the Saints' offense may now run through No. 41.
Fantasy Downside
All that being said, the Saints didn't bring Murray in just to ride the bench. Yes, the offense will run through Kamara, but they will also get Murray involved as well. John Paulsen also notes that the Saints gave Murray more guaranteed money than the Ravens gave Mark Ingram, indicating the Saints have plans for Murray. The threat of Murray getting a solid workload is what's preventing Kamara from being the rock-solid No. 1 pick in drafts, as he currently sits behind Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott and Christian McCaffrey in our rankings. Ingram's 138 carries from 2018 have to go somewhere and, for as talented as Kamara is and how the Saints will want to ride him, he won't see all those carries. Expect a good portion, if not a large portion, to go to Murray.
2019 Bottom Line
In the end, Kamara is a surefire RB1 option. Even with Murray in his shadows, the talent from the backfield and his catching abilities in the passing game mean the Saints will continue to give the first look to Kamara. While Kamara may rarely see 20 carries in a game, it's the quality of those carries and the extra catches out of the backfield that continues to make Kamara one of the safest options at the top of your fantasy draft.
Week 19 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
After resting in the Saints’ Week 17 loss to the Panthers, Alvin Kamara finished the regular season with 883 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 194 carries while also adding 81 receptions with four additional scores and 709 receiving yards. That production made Kamara fantasy’s RB4 and No. 4 overall player, which were the exact rankings he had as a rookie in 2017. Mark Ingram will continue to see touches in Sean Payton’s offense but there’s no question who the No. 1 back is in New Orleans. Now that it’s postseason time, Kamara figures to see plenty of touches in both the running and passing game Sunday when the Saints host the Eagles. Ranked as our RB3 for the Divisional Round, Kamara is worth the heavy price in DFS play.
