The New Orleans Saints made a change at quarterback last week, going to rookie Tyler Shough as the team looks to evaluate its young players for the rest of the season. Another place where young options could start getting more work in the coming weeks is in the backfield, where veteran Alvin Kamara is also dealing with an injury. Can Devin Neal or Audric Estime step into fantasy relevance the rest of the season?
In this post, we’ll take a look at the latest on Kamara’s injury and status, and then we’ll break down the fantasy football sleeper potential of the Saints running backs moving forward.
Alvin Kamara injury update
Kamara hasn’t been especially effective this season, averaging 41.9 rushing yards and 16.7 receiving yards per game while only scoring one touchdown. He had a few value performances earlier this season but has only posted 5.9, 6.5 and 1.7 fantasy points in his last three games.
Part of the reason for his struggles could be a bad wheel. The veteran has been on the injury list with an ankle injury for the past month even though he hasn’t missed a game. Last week, he was listed as questionable but played through the injury playing 59% of the snaps for the Saints and taking six of the nine running back carries.
He’s questionable again for Week 10 against the Panthers:
Devin Neal fantasy football outlook
Last week, rookie Devin Neal played 39% of snaps, and he career-high in carries and yards. Unfortunately it was still only an unremarkable three carries for 11 yards, but it was the most involvement he’d had all season.
In Week 9, he had three catches on three targets for 11 receiving yards, showing he can also contribute as a receiver out of the backfield. He also showcased that skillset in college, where he was a workhorse, every-down back for the Kansas Jayhawks:
The Saints haven’t given Neal enough work to know for sure, but he could have intriguing potential if he were to take over the primary role if Kamara is out. Even if Kamara plays, it makes sense for them to get him more opportunities as the season goes on to see what they have in the young running back.
Audric Estime fantasy football outlook
If you’re looking for a sign that the Saints could be about to reduce Kamara’s workload or have him sit out a game, the fact that the signed Estime to the active roster could indicate he’s going to be more involved moving forward. The Saints signed him to their practice squad when Kendre Miller went down with his torn ACL, and they signed him to the active roster on Wednesday.
Estime got some fantasy football sleeper buzz when the Broncos drafted him in the fifth round out of Notre Dame before last season. He got some work in the timeshare and finished with 310 rushing yards on 76 carries in his 13 games and five catches on five targets for 27 more yards. However, he was inactive in the Wild Card game and got squeezed off the roster this preseason.
When he has gotten chances in the past, Estime has mostly been used as a between-the-tackles, downhill runner. He could eventually be the early-down and short-yardage back with Neal fitting in as the third-down, versatile producer.
However, Estime hasn’t done anything for the Saints yet, not playing a single snap yet, so he’s impossible to trust in the short term even if Kamara is out.
The Bottom Line
Kamara hasn’t shown enough lately to be anything but a fantasy flier even if he is active. If he’s out this week, Neal becomes an interesting sleeper since he should get lots of work. What he can do with that work and whether that’s worth anything in this offense remains a huge question mark. He is worth a speculative add in deep season-long leagues since he should get a chance some time this season, but he’s hard to trust even in a flex spot until he does.
For one-week contests on DraftKings like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], Neal is only $4,400, making him one of the cheapest running backs who should get work this week. If Kamara is out and Neal gets most of the work, he’d be a fascinating flier play since all he’d need is one touchdown or decent yardage to return excellent value at that salary.. Be sure to check the latest on Kamara’s status leading up to kickoff on Sunday, but if you need more salary in other spots and are going cheap at running back, Neal will be a flier worth considering if Kamara is out.
