There aren’t many better examples of the New Orleans Saints’ decline than Alvin Kamara’s fall-off in recent years. A combination of factors — poor blocking, uninspired play calling, spotty quarterback play and the natural wear and tear of playing 100 games — have hurt him.
After earning a trip to the Pro Bowl in each of his first five years in the NFL, Kamara missed the event in each of the last two seasons. He’s scored just 10 touchdowns in his last 28 games after hitting the end zone 68 times in his first 73 games. The 4.5 yards per touch he averaged last season were the lowest of his career.
So getting him back on track might be a priority for Klint Kubiak, the Saints’ new offensive coordinator. He had a front-row seat to see how San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan weaponized Christian McCaffrey last year, which could be informative. Both running backs are known for their skills as pass-catchers with rare versatility. Kubiak spoke extensively with local media for the first time during rookie minicamp, and Kamara is one player he’s looking forward to deploying.
“I think it will be really fun to work with Alvin,” Kubiak said. “He’s got a great skill set that we can do a lot of things with. So it’s just up to us as coaches at identifying those things and him putting in the work.”
Kamara was one of the first players to meet with Kubiak after he joined the Saints, and that early exposure made a great first impression. His highlight reel speaks for itself, but Kubiak says those conversations with Kamara have opened his eyes to just what the playmaker can do in the offense he’s installing.
“He’s been in multiple times, up in my office, talking football. Getting some one-on-one time with him to teach the offense. Getting to know him a little bit, he’s a very bright player, I’m just now figuring out how bright he really is. It’ll be fun to load his plate up,” Kubiak added.
Both Sean Payton and Drew Brees pointed to Kamara as one of the most intelligent football players they had ever been around, so it isn’t too surprising to see Kubiak making a similar observation. Kamara took on more of a leadership role in recent years after Brees and Payton left the team, and it makes sense to keep the franchise touchdowns leader involved while laying their plans for 2024. Let’s see if it pays off to help revitalize Kamara’s career and get him back to the Pro Bowl.
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