7. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
If there was any player who misses Sean Payton more than Taysom Hill, it’s Alvin Kamara. He’s been a boom or bust type running back this season with his best games being in Weeks 5-8, where he was scoring legit RB1-RB2 range points. However in the weeks surrounding that period are a bunch of single-digit scores for Kamara where he is struggling to get 10 carries.
As great as Kamara can be, he’s only got one rushing touchdown and 524 rushing yards in 10 games. He’s been slightly better as a receiver, catching 49 passes for 422 yards and two touchdowns. Is all that his fault? No. Quarterback is a big problem for the Saints, but Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston are not Drew Brees.
Now, Kamara did not get to play the Bucs in Week 2 when Tampa’s defense was still playing like a contender. The Bucs were unable to stop the run on a handful of occasions, including Week 4 (Clyde Edwards Helaire), Week 7 (D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard), and Week 12 (Nick Chubb). Almost every other back rushed for less than 65 yards and were held scoreless. We don’t expect the Saints to give the ball to Kamara 20+ times though and they don’t have a QB to rise above the matchup.
