In some ways, the arrow is pointed squarely upwards for the New Orleans Saints, who appear to have found their franchise quarterback in 2025 second-round pick Tyler Shough. The running back position is still an open question, though: franchise legend Alvin Kamara has missed the last three weeks with ankle and knee injuries and won’t appear this weekend, and rookie Devin Neal was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve, leaving Audric Estimé and Evan Hull the only healthy running backs available for this weekend’s game against the New York Jets.
The Saints might operate a true running-back-by-committee approach, as neither back solidified himself as the primary option after Neal left the game at halftime. Hull took three carries in the second half (plus an additional carry that was negated by a penalty), and Estimé had one second-half carry and three catches, though he also took three carries in the first half prior to Neal’s exit. The snap count distribution was nearly perfect: Estimé was on the field for 25 of New Orleans’ 69 offensive snaps (36%), and Hull and Neal for 22 (32%) each. All in all, the team’s leader in rushing attempts was Shough, who turned eight carries into his 32 yards.
If either Saints running back establishes himself as the top guy, it’ll be Estimé, given that he’d cut slightly into a healthy Neal’s snaps and Hull had not, but I don’t have faith that either of them is much of a solution. Estimé at least has some history: as a Denver Bronco last season, he turned 76 carries into 310 yards and two scores, and he even led the team in rushing yards during two different games. In 2024, his 51.3% rushing success rate would’ve made him tied with his teammate Jaleel McLaughlin, as well as Kamara, for the 18th-best in football if he’d taken enough carries to qualify. By contract, 10 of Hull’s 11 career carries have come in the last three weeks, and none have gone for more than six yards. The two backs had a similar receiving track record in college, but Estimé is a better pass protector.
Regardless, neither is worth a start until one establishes himself as the clear-cut option, and Kamara could be back by Week 17, rendering the debate moot. Plus, as mediocre as the Jets have been against opposing running backs — they’ve allowed the third-most fantasy points to the position, including the most total touchdowns — they haven’t been much better through the air. Opposing quarterbacks have racked up the 11th-most FPTS per game, including (critically for Shough) the 10th-most rushing yards, on the fourth-most adjusted yards per attempt, and they’re the only team not to record an interception. New York also gets pressure at the third-lowest rate, which would incentivize Shough to be aggressive instead of checking it down to Estimé.
Start or Sit: Sit Audric Estimé, Sit Evan Hull.
