Former Vol Alvin Kamara named to NFL top 100 players by CBS

Anybody that saw Alvin Kamara play at Tennessee knew what was coming at the next level. The former Tennessee running back was electric during his short stay in Knoxville, impressing NFL scouts enough to go on day two of the NFL Draft.

The landing spot couldn’t have been much better either. Kamara went to the New Orleans Saints, forming another dangerous branch in that offense which is still powered by Drew Brees. The returns for the Saints were immediate as Kamara formed a dynamic duo with Mark Ingram.

As a rookie, Kamara totalled over 1,500 yards from scrimmage, scoring 13 touchdowns. He had similar production in his second season, totalling over 1,500 yards once again and scoring 18 touchdowns. After a small step back in his third season, Kamara was named to the NFL’s top 100 players by Pete Prisco of CBS Sports.

Prisco ranked Kamara as the 40th best player in the league today. Here’s what he had to say.

He’s another dual threat back who is outstanding in the passing game. He only rushed for 797 yards in 2019, but he caught 81 passes for 533 yards. One has to wonder what he could do with more carries after getting under 200 in each of his three seasons.

Kamara is in the final year of his rookie deal with New Orleans. After the team let Mark Ingram walk in free agency last season, a new contract looms large for the Saints and Kamara.

Kamara signed with Tennessee as a four-star JUCO running back. He initially enrolled at Alabama, but took the junior college route after just one season with the Crimson Tide. Kamara emerged as an immediate weapon in 2015 for the Volunteers, but was behind Jalen Hurd on the depth chart.

Used somewhat sparingly, Kamara ran for 698 and 596 yards in his two seasons in Knoxville. That lack of workload was likely attractive to NFL teams, but was frustrating to watch play out at Tennessee. Kamara declared for the draft after his junior season.

The rest is history. Now Kamara is set to cash in with a new deal sometime over the next ten months.

Just because you can, let’s remember how dominant Kamara was during his time at Tennessee.