Could Saints RB Alvin Kamara’s best football still be ahead?

New Orleans Saints star RB Alvin Kamara appears to be flying under the radar ahead of his ninth NFL campaign, but the 29-year-old could be primed to reassert himself as one of the league’s most versatile weapons with new head coach Kellen Moore now in charge of play calling duties.

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The narrative that Alvin Kamara is declining is one I still can’t fully wrap my head around. Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus actually ranked Kamara 20th in his running back rankings ahead of the 2025 season. Kamara also finished the 2024 season with just an 85 overall rating on Madden NFL 25.

As the leading rusher in franchise history with 6,779 yards, Kamara came just 50 yards short of his first-ever 1,000-yard rushing season in 2024—proving he has a lot of good football left in the tank.

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Looking at new Saints head coach Kellen Moore’s track record, running backs clearly play a pivotal role in his offense. In Moore’s lone season as the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, All-Pro RB Saquon Barkley rushed for a career-high 2,005 yards, 5.8 yards per carry and 13 touchdowns in 2024 while being named the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

During Moore’s time as OC of the Dallas Cowboys from 2019 to 2022, Moore helped former Pro Bowl RB Ezekiel Elliott post two 1,000-yard rushing seasons and find the end zone 40 times over that four year span.

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Over the last three seasons, Alvin Kamara leads all NFL running backs in targets (252), receptions (200), and receiving yards (1,499), per The 33rd Team. Kamara’s versatility puts him in rare company—just three running backs in NFL history have gained 5,000 or more yards both rushing and receiving: Marcus Allen, Marshall Faulk and Tiki Barber. Kamara is just 238 receiving yards shy of joining that elite group of ball carriers.

However, running backs have typically seen a drop in their receiving production under Kellen Moore’s offense. According to PFF’s Nathan Jahnke, Saquon Barkley consistently posted a target share of at least 17.7% during each of his six seasons with the New York Giants, but that dipped to 13.8% after joining Moore in Philadelphia. Similarly, Austin Ekeler averaged just 1.25 yards per route run in his lone season under Moore with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023—the lowest mark of his career. And in Dallas, Ezekiel Elliott’s efficiency as a pass catcher also declined. His yards per route run—which had consistently been over 1.0 before Moore began calling plays—fell below that threshold during Moore’s tenure, only to rebound back to 1.0 the year after Moore left for LA.

While Kellen Moore hasn’t historically emphasized utilizing running backs in the passing game, he’s made it clear this offseason that he plans to let his players play to their strengths. That could benefit Kamara, even though the numbers from Moore’s previous offenses show a different trend in the passing game.

Moore on Kamara:

“He is one of the premiere players in this league and we want to utilize every aspect of that. His mental capacity is really high, and he understands football. It will be fun… He will be a big part of this.”

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It’s also important to note that despite injuries across the offensive line last season, the Saints’ front five was still one of the best when it came to run blocking, clocking a top-10 RBK grade from PFF in 2024. With the addition of first-round NFL Draft pick Kelvin Banks Jr. and Trevor Penning’s transition inside, the OL could look even stronger in 2025.

Meanwhile, Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy—the heart and soul of the Saints’ offensive line—missed 10 games after suffering a groin injury just three plays into Week 3’s matchup against the Eagles, yet still posted a 94.6 run-blocking grade from PFF. If McCoy stays healthy, the run game should take a clear step forward.

That said, I have high hopes for Kamara in 2025 as both a rusher and receiver—now the question is, who will back him up amid a crowded RB room?