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Expectations are high for Jamaal Williams after he led the league with 17 touchdown runs last year, especially now that he’s been paired with New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (who tied Marques Colston’s team record with 72 career touchdowns as a runner, receiver, and returner last season). Do the Saints have a better duo?
That’s a question for CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr. In a wide-ranging article exploring every team’s best duo, Kerr focused on the tandem of Kamara and Williams for New Orleans, writing:
The Saints’ new running back tandem should present a problem for opposing defenses, thanks to the addition of Williams. The free-agent signing led the NFL with 17 touchdowns in a career year, setting the Lions’ franchise record for rushing touchdowns in a season. Williams had 1,066 rushing yards for Detroit, becoming a complementary piece to Kamara (similar to how Mark Ingram was used in years past).
Kamara didn’t make the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career, but he still had 1,387 yards from scrimmage despite only four touchdowns. The first player in NFL history to record at least 500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in each of his first four seasons, Kamara’s receiving numbers should improve with Williams in the fold and Derek Carr as his quarterback.
Both running backs are expected to make Pete Carmichael’s offense go.
It’s an interesting premise, and on paper things look like an ideal match. Both players have a strong resume as runners and receivers (Williams started his NFL career as Aaron Rodgers’ go-to back on passing downs). But Kamara’s uncertain status with a potential suspension looming ahead of him obscures the picture. Odds are he’ll miss some time to start the season, with rookie draft pick Kendre Miller working to pick up his slack in the rotation next to Williams.
So which other positions have an argument as the Saints’ top tandem? They would love to be able to say that about Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye after investing in both players with sizable free agent contracts last year (doubling down through restructures this offseason), but Maye missed too much time with injuries and Mathieu didn’t really hit his stride until midseason. They haven’t played enough games together.
That’s also true of Marshon Lattimore and Alontae Taylor (or Paulson Adebo) in the secondary, as well as their teammates Michael Thomas and Chris Olave on offense. Bookend tackles Ryan Ramczyk and Trevor Penning didn’t play many snaps together either. At the end of the day, the Saints were hammered too hard by injuries last year to settle on many other positions. Even a dynamic linebacker duo of Demario Davis and Pete Werner didn’t play together quite often enough.
But we’re optimists. And with an eye on the team’s additions going into the 2023 season, we’ll be bold and go in a different direction: maybe tight ends Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau end up being the team’s top tandem? They can both block capably and make plays as receivers, with Johnson boasting speed in the open field to threaten defenses down the seam while Moreau’s sure hands and established connection with Carr make him an asset on third downs and critical red zone sequences. If both players remain healthy and continue to develop their game, they could be special.
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