The New Orleans Saints have some talent in the running back room led by Alvin Kamara.
He's been one of the most dynamic backs in the National Football League over the last eight seasons. Kamara played in 14 games last season and thrived. He had a career-high 950 rushing yards and 543 receiving yards. Kamara had eight total touchdowns.
Kamara is just 29 years old and appears poised for another huge year in a Kellen Moore-led offense, but Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke had an interesting prediction. He did a profile on fellow running back Kendre Miller and said there's a possibility that he actually passes Kamara and has more rushing yards in 2025.
"Bottom line, "Jahnke said. "Kendre Miller is more high-risk, high-reward than the usual running back. There is at least a possibility Miller can lead the team in rushing yards even if Alvin Kamara stays healthy the entire season. However, Miller also has an extensive injury history over a short NFL career, and it’s possible someone else wins the backup job in New Orleans."
Now that certainly would be surprising. Last year, Miller had 148 rushing yards in six games played. He only had 39 rushing attempts. It seems pretty unlikely that he will be the leading rusher on the Saints in 2025. Especially, after New Orleans signed Cam Akers and also drafted Devin Neal. But, there's at least some positive buzz for Miller heading into the 2025 season.
New Orleans Saints Sign Super Bowl Champion Running Back Cam Akers
The New Orleans Saints bolstered their offense Friday by adding a Super Bowl champion and former second-round pick to their running back room.
Although the Saints have a proven playmaker in Alvin Kamara, the rest of their backfield is unproven. Kendre Miller has dealt a plethora of injuries, Clyde Edwards-Helaire hasn't lived up to his draft status, and Devin Neal is just learning the ropes as a rookie in the NFL.
A few days ago, Cam Akers was present at minicamp for the Saints this week on a tryout basis. Clearly, he did enough to warrant an offer from New Orleans.
On Friday night, the Saints signed Akers to a one-year contract.
"Cam is an experienced player. He's done a lot throughout this league," Saints head coach Kellen Moore said. "As you go through this, you're always trying to evaluate as many players as you possibly can. So we felt like it was a great opportunity, and we are fired up that he was wanting to come out here."
Akers, 26, started off his NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020. As a rookie, he ran for 625 yards and two touchdowns. He suffered a torn Achilles in 2021 but came back in time to help them make a Super Bowl run.
During the 2024 season, Akers played for both the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans. He finished the year with 444 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 104 carries.
It'll be interesting to see if Akers can win the No. 2 spot on the depth chart in New Orleans.
