Tennessee football’s top 10 NFL single seasons of 2010s
player. 15. Scouting Report. Running Back. 2017. Alvin Kamara. Pick Analysis. 9
Yards per carry leader; Rookie of the Year; Second-Team All-Pro
Alvin Kamara, like Cordarrelle Patterson, is an all-purpose player. However, he is more of a yards from scrimmage guy. In the 2017 NFL Draft, Kamara fell to the third round because of how badly Tennessee football underused him when Butch Jones was coaching, but he immediately became a star on Sean Payton’s system with Drew Brees at quarterback.
That system has always thrived with an elite all-purpose back, so Kamara was the perfect fit. He led the league with just over six yards per carry, gaining 728 yards on the ground with eight touchdowns. However, he also had 81 receptions for 826 yards and five touchdowns.
Add in a kickoff return touchdown, and Kamara had 1,554 yards from scrimmage and 14 total touchdowns as a rookie. He was a splash player who helped revitalize New Orleans after a few years of futility with Brees and Payton at the helm, and he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down since then.
Although Kamara has continued to be elite since then, he was nowhere near as efficient as he was his rookie season. That’s why it makes the list. It’s not the best season by a running back in UT history, but it may be the best season by an all-purpose back. In addition to a horrible season, Kamara’s pro success certainly helped with the Vols’ argument to fire Jones.