While the value of running backs may come into question online each and every year throughout the draft process, their worth is never questioned on the football field. The New Orleans Saints drafted Alvin Kamara in 2017, and their entire offense changed because of him. There are no questions in the Big Easy around what a trusted back brings to a team.
However, at some point in the 2022 season the Saints may have to be ready for life without their superstar chess piece. Kamara could face a multi-game suspension following an offseason altercation. The case’s hearing has already been moved twice and is currently scheduled for Aug. 1. There is a possibility that the legal process continues to postpone and no discipline is handed down in time for the NFL to disseminate their own during the 2022 season. But the Saints should not plan for a best-case scenario here.
The running back room behind Alvin Kamara has some familiar faces. Special teams ace Dwayne Washington, last year’s preseason standout Tony Jones Jr. and of course Mark Ingram. Ingram is going into his twelfth NFL season, and was drafted by the Saints in 2011. Reunited with the team in 2021 after an offseason departure a couple years ago. Kamara and Ingram were a dynamic duo in 2017 and 2018, but does the veteran have enough left in the tank to be a lead back in Kamara’s place?
