One of the essential truths of fantasy – applicable to all sports – is that we eventually get bored of players who are reliable, predictable and relentlessly great. We can’t wait to get to the next one big thing, even if the previous big thing remains dominant.
The top picks in any draft are invariably the affordable veteran stars who are still performing at or near their peaks.
With this fact in mind, I would like to draw your attention to an ADP situation that appears to be outright theft.
Alvin Kamara finished last year as the overall RB5 per game and he is one of the most stable fantasy producers of the current era, but the early drafters have made him an RB17 in half-PPR formats. He’s also absolutely buried in our positions in 2024. High stakes players have banished him to the Dead Zone. It’s wild.
In case you somehow missed it, Kamara actually finished second among all running backs in receptions (75) and goals (86) last season despite missing four games (three of which were due to suspension). He averaged 89.2 scrimmage yards per game, made six home visits and caught a career-best 87.2% of his targets.
At 28, Kamara certainly remained capable of producing weekly highlights:
Whatever your opinion of Derek Carr at this stage (probably not favorable), at least the man recognized the completion percentage cheat code that was suddenly available to him.
New Orleans didn’t make any significant depth chart-altering improvements in the running back room this offseason, so we can feel comfortable about Kamara’s role in 2024. With apologies to Kendre Miller and his fanatics, the second-year running back hasn’t had any success. Kamara (or the wonderful Jamaal Williams) not yet usable. The Saints backfield hierarchy remains unchanged.
Klint Kubiak has taken over as OC for New Orleans after working as the Niners’ passing game coordinator under Kyle Shanahan last year. Kamara has been complimentary about his team’s new system, which shouldn’t really surprise anyone, as the atmosphere between Kubiaks and running backs is generally good. Klint last served as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator in 2021, a season in which Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison combined for 2,102 scrimmage yards, 10 TDs and 66 receptions.
Aside from age, it’s honestly hard to find a reason to actively make Kamara disappear. And yet many of you clearly do this. He showed no notable signs of decline last year – again he was a top-five scorer in terms of production per game – and is not an unusual injury risk in the coming season. In fact, his medical record is as clean as anything you’ll find for a return flight each age or mileage.
Kamara is currently embroiled in a bit of a mild contract-related stance, but so far it’s been one of the warmest looks in recent memory. There is no Le’Veon Bell situation. Kamara hasn’t given us any reason to panic about his availability.
If creators are still getting such a deep discount on issue 41 when we get deep into August, it will be the result of a catastrophic failure on the part of the fantasy expert community. He should be a target, not a blur. Kamara may be a household name, but his level of productivity should never bore us.
