We aren’t exactly breaking new ground here, but with the 2023 NFL draft just days away, it does serve to drive the point home. Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar drew up pro comparisons for his top 50 prospects in the upcoming draft class, and he sees a lot of Alvin Kamara in one of them. Here’s what he had to say of former Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs in comparison to the New Orleans Saints superstar:
It’s the obvious comparison, it’s the one everybody is using, and while I could try to be cute and go elsewhere, it just makes too much sense. Selected by the Saints in the third round of the 2017 draft, Kamara was the ideal lightning/satellite back in Sean Payton’s offense. Payton helped to force the advent of the base nickel defense by moving Reggie Bush from the backfield to the slot, Kamara was a furtherance of that paradigm, and in a lot of ways, Gibbs is the next step in the progression — or, at the very least, a very good copy of the original.
Gibbs is projected to be picked either late in the first round or early in the second frame, and the Saints are scheduled to pick in both spots (at Nos. 29 and 40 overall). New Orleans needs to continue improving depth at running back after they struggled to run the ball at times last season, and with Kamara expected to miss time with a suspension in the fall.
It’s very possible that the Saints like Gibbs enough to pick him as a temporary replacement and heir-apparent for Kamara, in which case this comparison looks like it’s right on the money. Like Kamara, Gibbs is a dynamic weapon who can run the ball and make plays as a receiver all over the field. But the comparison begins to fray when you look at their athletic testing results. Gibbs is much faster in a straight line but he’s also 15 pounds lighter than Kamara, who outperformed him in the vertical jump by a wide margin (and Gibbs didn’t complete his agility drills, where Kamara excelled).
Every prospect is their own person with their own goals and standards to satisfy, but you have to think Gibbs would be thrilled to experience as much pro success as Kamara has to this point in his career. We’ll find out very soon what the NFL has in store for him.
