Saints’ need for a backup running back
New Orleans simply has to give more help to Alvin Kamara in the backfield. Kendre Miller had flashes last season, but his injuries and struggles in pass protections continued to keep him off the field for the majority of the season
Outside of him, the other depth options at RB for the Saints are not particularly notable. Jamaal Williams could and should be a cut candidate this offseason. He has not worked out in New Orleans.
Luckily, the Saints can find some intriguing RB talent in this year’s NFL Draft.
Explosive numbers at the NFL Combine
Bhayshul Tuten, RB Virginia Tech
It’s one thing to look explosive on film as a compactly-framed smaller running back. It’s another thing entirely to show up and post 97th and 98th percentile speed and burst scores at the NFL Combine. Tuten’s 4.32-second forty-yard dash was the best among the running back group. His 40.5-inch vert was best as well.
Unfortunately his agility times killed his otherwise impressive athletic profile, but he definitely helped his draft stock significantly overall. Tuten was a fringe undrafted free agent talent for many in the league prior to the NFL Combine. Not anymore.
The running back class was incredibly impressive at this year’s NFL Combine. Travis May discussed a handful of RB prospects who helped their stock at the event.
Tuten is a projected day three pick this year, as of now. That’s the sort of range I would expect the Saints to look at the position, and they could even have some day two RBs on their radar.
They could also address it in round one with Ashton Jeanty at 9th overall, but that would be risky.
Tuten is a fun, jitterbug sort of runner who flashed elite speed at the Combine. He’s not a bellcow sort of option at the pro level, but a backup role can suit him quite nicely.
Raheim Sanders, RB South Carolina
It should not be surprising at all to see Rocket Sanders test as an elite athlete. Back in 2022 he was an assumed early-round running back prospect after putting up 1700 yards from scrimmage against SEC competition. Unfortunately he fought through injuries for much of 2023, then was still not quite back to normal for much of 2024.
His 90th percentile athletic profile featuring a 4.47-second forty-yard dash and a nice vertical jump at 217 pounds should have NFL teams reconsidering letting him drop into the later rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft now.
Talk about a guy who upgraded his stock in a major way. When watching Rocket in college, his athleticism jumped off the page. He just moved at a different sort of pace than almost all of the defenders he faced.
I expect a notable climb in his draft stock, and New Orleans taking him somewhere in rounds 3-5 would not surprise me one bit.
Kamara simply cannot sustain such a one-sided workload next season and beyond. Keeping him fresh and healthy needs to be a vital piece to the puzzle for head coach Kellen Moore.
These are just a couple of lesser known options that many teams will be interested in following the Combine. For May’s expanded list, check out his piece below.
