At long last, the fantasy football community knows how to properly value New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara after a looming suspension overshadowed his draft stock. Following a plea agreement in a Las Vegas assault case, the star running back met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell this week and learned his fate Friday, a three-game suspension.
This means the Saints and fantasy owners will be without Kamara for games against the Tennessee Titans at home and trips to the Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers. He returns in Week 4 to face a damning Tampa Bay Buccaneers run defense, followed by a visit to the New England Patriots before the schedule eases up a degree.
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In 2022 action, Carolina skewed toward the tougher side of the league vs. PPR backs. The Titans were thoroughly dominant against the position, ranking as the second-hardest unit to exploit. Carolina surrendered 15 offensive scores to running backs, while Tennessee allowed just seven. In some ways, this may prove to be a blessing in disguise to miss vs. the Titans.
Green Bay was the 10th-weakest unit last year but dealt with key injuries and played below its talent level at times. Expect a much better effort in 2023, and a trip to Lambeau, even in September, isn’t ideal for a dome team.
Gamers will be without Kamara during one of the least pivotal times in the season when bye weeks will not be an issue. While everyone likes to get off to a hot start, fantasy playoff position hardly determined in September.
Fantasy football takeaway
Kamara’s absence means we’ll see the Saints rely heavily on Jamaal Williams in the first three games. Given the aforementioned matchup difficulty and his lesser talents a receiving back, consider him a flex vs. Carolina but easily benchable vs. Tennessee. He can serve as your RB2 vs. Green Bay.
Rookie Kendre Miller (knee) can remain in reserve. He’s still working his way back from knee surgery and has missed enough time to expect a sluggish start to his NFL career.
As for Kamara himself, he has been going as a low-tier RB2 in most PPR formats, and that remains a sound placement for him given his struggles of late and the missing games.
Expect the Saints to put their massive investment into quarterback Derek Carr to good use while Kamara is out, thus amplifying the worth of Michael Thomas, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Juwan Johnson.