The New Orleans Saints offense has been one of the most surprising storylines of the first quarter of the 2024 NFL season. Through four games, the Saints are averaging a league-high 31.8 points per game. Not many people saw that coming before the season started.
There are two big reasons why the offense has been so productive, and both reasons are people. Klint Kubiak and Alvin Kamara have been the driving forces for the high-scoring offense. All offseason, Kubiak told everyone he was planning for Kamara to have a big season, and so far, things are going according to plan.
The veteran running back is currently leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 536, and touchdowns with six. Despite putting up these numbers while playing for the league’s best offense, Kamara was recently snubbed in a quarterly awards list.
Bill Barnwell, in a recent piece for ESPN, ranked award candidates after the first four weeks of the season. With how Kamara has started the year, he seemed like a no-brainer option for the ranking. However, Barnwell only ranked three players, and Kamara wasn’t one.
Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry was ranked No. 1, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was second, and Houston Texans receiver Nico Collins was third.
Alvin Kamara left out of ESPN’s Offensive Player of the Year candidates
Barnwell did acknowledge Kamara, saying he has a case but narrowly missed out on the list. That doesn’t make this snub justifiable, especially since two running backs occupied the top two spots.
Between the three running backs, Kamara has the most combined yards and touchdowns. Additionally, he has been more consistent than Henry, who has been ridiculously dominant in the last two weeks, but started the year a bit slow. Also, Barnwell can’t argue that team success is the difference, because the Saints, Ravens, and Eagles are all 2-2.
This is just a quarterly ranking, but Kamara definitely deserves more respect. If he and the Saints can continue to play at the level they’ve been playing at, he’ll definitely be in consideration for the real award.
