With Adrian Peterson and Mark Ingram getting the night off in the New Orleans Saints' preseason opener, rookie Alvin Kamara was the lone head of the backfield triumvirate to take the field Thursday night versus the Cleveland Browns.
The shifty rookie displayed the type of dynamic ability he can provide out of the backfield. He burst out for runs of 12 and 22 yards on four carries, giving him 8.8 yards per tote in limited snaps.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
"You just got to keep building on it," Kamara said after the 20-14 loss to the Browns, via Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune. "It's funny because once you get that first carry you want more, so I just want more. I just got to keep getting better, keep progressing."
It wasn't all rosy for the rookie. To go along with his big bursts, Kamara had runs of zero and one yard. He didn't catch a pass, which should be his main duty once Peterson and Ingram enter the fray. He also failed to flash in his chance to snatch punt return duties.
"They got a punt that's short [and] he's got to get everyone off of it so it just doesn't roll back to someone's calf," coach Sean Payton said. "He struggled with the exchange early in the game. I thought he settled in, though, once he got going."
The big takeaways from his two pop-off runs Thursday were Kamara's incredible balance when he's hit and his big-play potential. Playing the Reggie Bush-role in Payton's offense, the Saints hope the rookie hits home runs in his limited touches. He showed he could do just that in his first action.