The New Orleans Saints have had many quality draft classes over the years, with the said rookies taking the league by storm. However, since 2006, Alvin Kamara has been the cream of the crop. The running back is the Saints' highest graded rookie, per Pro Football Focus, over the last 19 years.
Kamara won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2017, the first Saint to do so since running back Rueben Mayes in 1986. In Rueben Mayes’ OROTY campaign, he had 286 carries for 1,353 yards and eight touchdowns.
Alvin Kamara ascended quickly as a rookie
In Kamara's rookie campaign, he had 120 carriers for 728 yards and 8 touchdowns. ProFootballFocus gave it a grade of 90.4. Additionally, he also had 86 receptions for 826 yards and 5 touchdowns. Instantly, Kamara was one of the faces for dual threat running backs.
It's amazing to think of how quickly Kamara became a featured part of the offense in hindsight. It just took a couple of weeks and a few flashes, and he made Adrian Peterson expendable. Alvin Kamara showed his receiving proficiency against the Miami Dolphins, and Sean Payton shipped Peterson off to Arizona.
Since his rookie year, Kamara has made been named an Pro Bowler five times and has also become the team's all-time leader in rushing yards with 6,779, rushing touchdowns in team history with 60, and the leader in total touchdowns with 86.
His investment to the organization is everlasting. ”I wanna be a Saint, I wanna retire here. If I gotta play football somewhere else, I’ll probably have my feet kicked up in Africa somewhere.” Kamara said in a meeting with media last season.
Outside of Kamara, other significant rookie seasons since 2006 include fellow 2017 draftees Marshon Lattimore, who won defensive rookie of the year that season, and Ryan Ramczyk. Michael Thomas and Chris Olave were two wide receivers with strong debut seasons. Reggie Bush was also dynamic as a rookie in 2006.
