Saints rookie Alvin Kamara is leading a running back evolution
Alvin Kamara
Alvin Kamara can do it all . ( Bill Feig / AP ) In the weeks and months leading into the 2017 NFL draft   New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton watched several running backs work out in person . He separated them into tiers   ranking them in order of preference . He inspected a small   jitterbug - quick back from North Carolina A & T   Tarik Cohen   and came away wanting to draft him . Just above Cohen   though   was another back Payton studied in a private workout . When the draft came and rolled into the third round   Payton seized the chance to trade up   into the 67th overall pick   and draft  Alvin Kamara  .  Kamara  has erupted   becoming the most explosive player on one of the league ’ s best teams and the clear favorite for rookie of the year .  He  has rushed for 606 yards   caught 60 passes for another 614 yards and scored 11 total touchdowns . The manner in which  Kamara  plays is instructive   a sign of where NFL offense is headed .  Kamara  is a running back comfortable taking on the duties of a wide receiver .  Kamara  may be the idealized version of a versatile back   but there are more like  him  on the way . The Panthers drafted Christian McCaffrey eighth overall as much for  his  receiving ability as  his  running ability   and they have attempted 90 passes to  him    tying Devin Funchess as Cam Newton ’ s most frequent target . The Chiefs ’ Kareem Hunt   despite slowing after a monstrous start to the year   has caught 39 balls for 347 yards . Dalvin Cook caught five passes for 72 yards in a game before being injured for the season . Cohen   the player Payton bypassed for Kamara   has been a key cog in Chicago ’ s passing game . And that is only a sampling of rookies from this season . While Ezekiel Elliott primarily succeeded by bruising behind the Cowboys ’ stellar offensive line last season   Dallas felt comfortable drafting him fourth overall because of his ability to run every route proficiently — head personnel executive Stephen Jones pointed out that Elliott had played slot receiver as a sophomore in high school . [ NFL players react with alarm and prayers as Steelers ’ Ryan Shazier is carted off ] Kamara leads a wave of young backs who have been developing receiving skills for years . The rise of offseason passing leagues and pass - heavy spread offenses in college have created a new breed of running back . “ Whatever you want to credit that to — seven - on - seven passing academies to just the style of offenses that they run in college   I ’ m not sure — but guys seem to come in even more prepared now than they ever have been  ” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said . “ What they ’ re able to do   I think their versatility is something that you see with so many of these young backs that come in . They can run the ball between the tackles   they can catch the ball out of the backfield   you can split them out and almost treat them as receivers sometimes . Just really talented players .” The traditional plow - horse running back is not extinct — the Jaguars took Leonard Fournette fourth overall and would probably do so again ; he is a battering ram suited for their ball - control offense . But many running backs may be better viewed as skill players . The Steelers ’ Le ’ Veon Bell might be the best running back in football   but he can also line up wide . He caught 75 passes in 12 games last year   and he has another 61 catches already this season . The usage actually led to a contract dispute — Bell held out all of training camp because he wanted to be paid like a receiver . It may not be the last time the issue arises . In the NBA   the Golden State Warriors popularized the concept of positionless basketball   employing five players with skill - sets varied enough to capitalize on any opponent ’ s weakness or mitigate any strength . This NFL season has seen some offenses attempting to play positionless football . The New England Patriots are part of the vanguard . This offseason   they added Rex Burkhead   a powerful runner who had once played slot receiver for the Bengals   in free agency . They combined him with James White and Dion Lewis   and Tom Brady has targeted them a combined 111 times . The Patriots could motion any of White   Lewis or Burkhead out of the backfield   or just line them up as a receiver . The Patriots often employ two on the same play   bedeviling defenses that must decide which personnel to match them with . “ It depends how the defense wants to treat you  ” White said . “ If they want to treat me like a receiver   maybe they ’ ll put a [ defensive back ] on me . If they want to treat me like a running back   maybe they put a linebacker in . It all depends how the defense wants to match up against you . It ’ s really up to the defense .” [ The Seahawks ’ upset of the Eagles shook the entire NFC playoff field ] White has seen more pass attempts than any Patriot after Brandin Cooks and Rob Gronkowski . In the Super Bowl last year   he caught 14 passes for 110 yards . Now in his fourth season   White came out of a run - heavy system at Wisconsin   but he said he played wide receiver in Pop Warner and other leagues growing up . Once in the NFL   he felt comfortable being used a variety of ways . “ More college teams started doing that   splitting the back out wide  ” White said . “ It translates in the NFL .” The tide is not stopping . Saquan Barkley caught 47 passes for 594 yards this season at Penn State   and he will certainly be the first running back taken next April   likely among the top five picks . Coaches will be scouring workouts as Payton did last season   looking for the next Kamara . Those kind of running backs are out there   and they are taking over the NFL . >>> The Giants upended their franchise Monday by firing Ben McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese   who presided over two Super Bowl rosters   in the midst of a 2 - 10 debacle   Mark Maske reports . The removal of McAdoo and Reese was expected . Interestingly   Maske reports that there is a “ strong chance ” the Giants reinsert Eli Manning for their game Sunday at home against Dallas . Giants owners clearly fear a fan revolt   and Monday they attempted to quell it by making wholesale changes   Mike Vaccaro writes . >>> Rob Gronkowski was suspended one game for his cheap shot on Bills cornerback Tre ’ Davious White . Sally Jenkins writes the hit warranted a more severe punishment . Read more on the NFL : Anquan Boldin says Players Coalition ’ s agreement with NFL was never about protests Chargers should be favored to capture AFC West crown New York Giants fire Ben McAdoo   Jerry Reese as team cleans house The Packers ’ playoff odds stand at 750 - to - 1 even if Aaron Rodgers returns Jay Gruden : Redskins ‘ don ’ t have any plans to shut anybody down ’ After tearing his Achilles   Ravens ’ Jimmy Smith reportedly drops appeal of PED suspension
[TGT] can do it all . ( Bill Feig / AP ) In the weeks and months leading into the 2017 NFL draft   New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton watched several running backs work out in person . He separated them into tiers   ranking them in order of preference . He inspected a small   jitterbug - quick back from North Carolina A & T   Tarik Cohen   and came away wanting to draft him . Just above Cohen   though   was another back Payton studied in a private workout . When the draft came and rolled into the third round   Payton seized the chance to trade up   into the 67th overall pick   and draft  [TGT]  .  [TGT]has erupted   becoming the most explosive player on one of the league ’ s best teams and the clear favorite for rookie of the year .  [TGT]  has rushed for 606 yards   caught 60 passes for another 614 yards and scored 11 total touchdowns . The manner in which  [TGT]plays is instructive   a sign of where NFL offense is headed .  [TGT]is a running back comfortable taking on the duties of a wide receiver .  [TGT]may be the idealized version of a versatile back   but there are more like  [TGT]  on the way . The Panthers drafted Christian McCaffrey eighth overall as much for  his  receiving ability as  his  running ability   and they have attempted 90 passes to  him    tying Devin Funchess as Cam Newton ’ s most frequent target . The Chiefs ’ Kareem Hunt   despite slowing after a monstrous start to the year   has caught 39 balls for 347 yards . Dalvin Cook caught five passes for 72 yards in a game before being injured for the season . Cohen   the player Payton bypassed for [TGT]has been a key cog in Chicago ’ s passing game . And that is only a sampling of rookies from this season . While Ezekiel Elliott primarily succeeded by bruising behind the Cowboys ’ stellar offensive line last season   Dallas felt comfortable drafting him fourth overall because of his ability to run every route proficiently — head personnel executive Stephen Jones pointed out that Elliott had played slot receiver as a sophomore in high school . [ NFL players react with alarm and prayers as Steelers ’ Ryan Shazier is carted off ] [TGT] leads a wave of young backs who have been developing receiving skills for years . The rise of offseason passing leagues and pass - heavy spread offenses in college have created a new breed of running back . “ Whatever you want to credit that to — seven - on - seven passing academies to just the style of offenses that they run in college   I ’ m not sure — but guys seem to come in even more prepared now than they ever have been  ” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said . “ What they ’ re able to do   I think their versatility is something that you see with so many of these young backs that come in . They can run the ball between the tackles   they can catch the ball out of the backfield   you can split them out and almost treat them as receivers sometimes . Just really talented players .” The traditional plow - horse running back is not extinct — the Jaguars took Leonard Fournette fourth overall and would probably do so again ; he is a battering ram suited for their ball - control offense . But many running backs may be better viewed as skill players . The Steelers ’ Le ’ Veon Bell might be the best running back in football   but he can also line up wide . He caught 75 passes in 12 games last year   and he has another 61 catches already this season . The usage actually led to a contract dispute — Bell held out all of training camp because he wanted to be paid like a receiver . It may not be the last time the issue arises . In the NBA   the Golden State Warriors popularized the concept of positionless basketball   employing five players with skill - sets varied enough to capitalize on any opponent ’ s weakness or mitigate any strength . This NFL season has seen some offenses attempting to play positionless football . The New England Patriots are part of the vanguard . This offseason   they added Rex Burkhead   a powerful runner who had once played slot receiver for the Bengals   in free agency . They combined him with James White and Dion Lewis   and Tom Brady has targeted them a combined 111 times . The Patriots could motion any of White   Lewis or Burkhead out of the backfield   or just line them up as a receiver . The Patriots often employ two on the same play   bedeviling defenses that must decide which personnel to match them with . “ It depends how the defense wants to treat you  ” White said . “ If they want to treat me like a receiver   maybe they ’ ll put a [ defensive back ] on me . If they want to treat me like a running back   maybe they put a linebacker in . It all depends how the defense wants to match up against you . It ’ s really up to the defense .” [ The Seahawks ’ upset of the Eagles shook the entire NFC playoff field ] White has seen more pass attempts than any Patriot after Brandin Cooks and Rob Gronkowski . In the Super Bowl last year   he caught 14 passes for 110 yards . Now in his fourth season   White came out of a run - heavy system at Wisconsin   but he said he played wide receiver in Pop Warner and other leagues growing up . Once in the NFL   he felt comfortable being used a variety of ways . “ More college teams started doing that   splitting the back out wide  ” White said . “ It translates in the NFL .” The tide is not stopping . Saquan Barkley caught 47 passes for 594 yards this season at Penn State   and he will certainly be the first running back taken next April   likely among the top five picks . Coaches will be scouring workouts as Payton did last season   looking for the next Kamara . Those kind of running backs are out there   and they are taking over the NFL . >>> The Giants upended their franchise Monday by firing Ben McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese   who presided over two Super Bowl rosters   in the midst of a 2 - 10 debacle   Mark Maske reports . The removal of McAdoo and Reese was expected . Interestingly   Maske reports that there is a “ strong chance ” the Giants reinsert Eli Manning for their game Sunday at home against Dallas . Giants owners clearly fear a fan revolt   and Monday they attempted to quell it by making wholesale changes   Mike Vaccaro writes . >>> Rob Gronkowski was suspended one game for his cheap shot on Bills cornerback Tre ’ Davious White . Sally Jenkins writes the hit warranted a more severe punishment . Read more on the NFL : Anquan Boldin says Players Coalition ’ s agreement with NFL was never about protests Chargers should be favored to capture AFC West crown New York Giants fire Ben McAdoo   Jerry Reese as team cleans house The Packers ’ playoff odds stand at 750 - to - 1 even if Aaron Rodgers returns Jay Gruden : Redskins ‘ don ’ t have any plans to shut anybody down ’ After tearing his Achilles   Ravens ’ Jimmy Smith reportedly drops appeal of PED suspension