Alvin Kamara needs to be in DC
September 2, 2020
by Steve Thomas
Say what? Alvin Kamara might be available in trade? That’s downright unbelievable. The Redskins Washington Football Team the Team Washington needs to go get this guy immediately. Before you tell me that I’m crazy, he’s too expensive, the team already has a bunch of running backs, Antonio Gibson is the same player, or whatever other opinion you may hold, allow me to explain.
Background
Kamara (5’10” / 215) is a native of Norcross, George. He was the top-rated running back in the country coming out of high school and spent his first college season at the University of Alabama in 2013, redshirting after preseason knee surgery. He transferred to Hutchinson Community College for the 2014 season, then transferred again to the University of Tennessee for 2015 and 2016. In total, he played in 24 games for the Volunteers, with 210 rushing attempts for 1,294 yards, 6.2 yards per carry, and 16 touchdowns. He also had another 74 receptions for 683 yards, 9.2 yards per reception, and 7 touchdowns.
At the 2017 NFL Combine, Kamara ran the 40 yard dash in 4.56 seconds, jumped 39.5 inches in the vertical leap and 10’11” in the standing broad jump, and did 15 bench press reps at 225 pounds. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in round 3 of the 2017 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he played in 16 games, starting 3, and had 120 carries for 728 yards, 6.1 yards per carry, and 8 touchdowns, plus 81 receptions for 826 yards, 10.2 yards per reception, and 5 touchdowns. In 2016, he played in 15 games, starting 13, and had 194 carries for 883 yards, 4.6 yards per carry, and 14 touchdowns, plus 81 receptions for 709 yards, 8.8 yards per reception, and 4 touchdowns. In 2017, Kamara played 14 games, starting 9, with 171 carries, 797 yards, 4.7 yards per carry, and 5 touchdowns, plus 81 receptions for 533 yards, 6.6 yards per reception, and 1 touchdown. In total, he’s played in 45 NFL games, with 485 carries for 2,408 yards, 5.0 yards per carry, and 27 touchdowns, plus 243 receptions, 2,068 receiving yards, 8.5 yards per reception, and 8.5 yards per reception. Kamara has been elected to three straight Pro Bowls and was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2017.
Kamara played most of last season with a knee injury after suffering a torn MCL in week 6, as reported by Bleacher Report’s Master Tesfatsion (a former Hog Sty Podcast guest). His rookie contract runs through the 2020 season.
So what’s going on now?
There’s been an open question for awhile regarding what the Saints were going to do with Kamara’s contract. The excitement level was raised Tuesday evening when Josina Anderson (formerly of ESPN) reported that the Saints were open to trading Kamara in lieu of re-signing him.
Why am I excited about Kamara? For one thing, Washington needs help at running back. The ageless Adrian Peterson is now 35 years old, and even he can’t play forever. I think very highly of Bryce Love’s potential, and have written about it here recently (click here to read), but he’s coming back from major injury and hasn’t played an NFL down. Fan favorite Antonio Gibson (click here to read my film study) certainly has all the potential in the world and is an exciting prospect, but he’s not played a down yet either. Sure, Peyton Barber may come around, and J.D. McKissic is probably more of a third down back; are either one a future franchise back?
I get the argument that the team would be better served by trying to develop their own talent, but the fact is that Kamara is a 3x Pro Bowler with only three years of NFL service who happens to play with a style that fits perfectly with Ron Rivera’s offense. Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner have both been openly discussing their desire to find a new Christian McCaffrey, and Kamara is as close to McCaffrey as there is in the NFL. Kamara is everything that the team hopes Gibson can become someday. What’s better for the team, the sure thing or the rookie who, while well liked, hasn’t proven anything? I submit to you that the right thing to do is to bring in the three year vet.
Kamara is still young and will have the opportunity to grow with the rest of the team’s youthful talent. He’s going to be looking for a contract in the range of or exceeding what McCaffrey signed, which was just over $16M average annual value, with cap hits of $7.7M in 2020 and $12.5M in 2021. Washington can afford to dole out a contract like this – they have more than $29M in free cap space right now.
Kamara’s 2019 injury is a concern, and certainly the team would have to make sure that he’s healthy, but if so, I don’t see a downside to this potential acquisition. I’m not afraid of brining in a running back headed into his 4th year and who has a combined 485 carries. I’d trade a decent draft pick plus one of Washington’s current running backs in order to acquire him. I don’t necessarily think Kamara is worth a first round draft pick, but anything short of that strikes me as a worthwhile deal.
The bottom line is that it’s nice to think that the team should only stick to developing their own draft picks, but they shouldn’t pass up a young player who’s one of the most complete backs in the entire league. The team should make every effort to bring him to DC.