Alvin Kamara basically carried the Drew Brees-less New Orleans Saints to a Week 3 win in Seattle in Teddy Bridgewater's first start. Kamara shed tacklers like he was taking off a raincoat and tossed aside defender after defender. The running back compiled 161 of the Saints' 265 yards and scored twice.
Then the injuries began to take their toll.
Dealing with ankle and knee issues at different points of the 2019 campaign, Kamara didn't look quite like the player we were used to seeing.
He was still good, mind you, but lacked that extra layer of spice that makes a great dish a mind-altering experience. Kamara seemed to shed fewer tackles and pop less big runs, and his wiggle looked a smidge less wiggly.
Entering his fourth season, the 24-year-old believes he's put the injury issues in the past.
In response to a video of his 2019 top plays posted by the NFL Twitter handle, Kamara wrote "On 1 leg... At 75%.. but we back to 100, (heart emoji)"
The Saints need a 100 percent Kamara to win their fourth-straight NFC South title and get over the elusive playoff hump.
When healthy, Kamara is one of the most dangerous weapons in the entire NFL, with the ability to slip a tackle and make a house call at any moment. Even at 75 percent, he's still a matchup nightmare, but those explosive plays were fewer and further between during the second half of last season.
Keeping Kamara closer to 100 percent for most of the 2020 campaign might have to entail Sean Payton not overworking his star running back early in the season, and leaning on Latavius Murray more often in the run game.
