Rookie Report Card: Alvin Kamara and Austin Ekeler
Each week throughout the season, I’ll cover at least two rookies in the Rookie Report Card and try to always include the biggest performers from that particular week. On top of reviewing my expectations for each player coming into the league and covering how he’s performed at the NFL level to this point, I’ll actually give him a grade in three categories. Those categories are performance to date, 2017 potential and long term upside.
The series continues with a look at a pair of ball carriers, Alvin Kamara and Austin Ekeler.
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Alvin Kamara, RB NO
Week Ten Stats: 12 carries, 106 rushing yards, one touchdown, five receptions, 32 receiving yards (five targets)
There wasn’t a draft prospect last year that made me scratch my head more than Kamara. Carrying the ball just over 200 times in his two years at Tennessee, many felt he simply wasn’t good enough to be a full time player despite averaging 6.2 yards per carry, catching 74 passes and scoring 23 touchdowns in just 24 games.
Although I loved what I saw from him in college, the stigma surrounding Kamara from both draftnics and dynasty owners seeped into my evaluation when watching the former Volunteer. Nevertheless his size (5’-10”, 215 pounds) and combination of power and speed regularly left me intrigued after watching his tape.
The most eye-popping part to Kamara’s game is his burst at the line of scrimmage. Decisive and quick, he explodes through rushing lanes in a blink. With short, rapid steps, he changes directions quickly and displays an impressive spin move, quality stiff-arm to keep tacklers away from his legs, and great balance to take on a hit and stay on his feet. When you combine all that with impressive route running and great hands out of the backfield, he appeared at times like a three-down tailback.
Unfortunately his injury history along with his propensity to put the football on the ground and his inconsistent vision – particularly on runs to the perimeter – put doubt in the minds of many that watched Kamara play in college.
While those doubts were lingering in my mind as much as anybody’s in the months leading up to the NFL draft, it took only a moment for most of those qualms to be relieved for me. That moment came when Kamara was selected by the Saints and head coach Sean Payton in the third round of the NFL draft.
Kamara landing in New Orleans is the perfect example of when a player’s landing spot should play into how dynasty owners approach his upside. Payton’s history with pass catching tailbacks (i.e. Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles) made The Big Easy the ideal destination for Kamara and he’s proved as much through his first nine games as a pro.
Averaging a sizzling 6.5 yards per carry on 64 carries while catching 42 passes for 373 yards, Kamara has fit perfectly into the Saints’ backfield rotation and has become a big part of their offense. In fact, over New Orleans’ last six games, he’s averaged 14.3 touches per game and has at least 11 in each of them. Piling up 109.3 yards from scrimmage per game and five touchdowns over that span, he’s putting up top-10 fantasy tailback numbers already as a rookie.
On Sunday, Kamara had his best game as a pro. With 106 rushing yards on 12 carries (8.8 YPC) as well as five catches for 32 yards, he was a top-five option at the position.
Kamara showed he can do everything in the Saints’ win against the Bills. His touchdown run (as well as the 19-yarder on the play before it which appeared to be the exact same play call) came on a perimeter run that required acceleration to get the edge and showed his ability to cut behind a lead block. Also showing playmaking ability between the tackles, he had an impressive 15-yard run in the third quarter on a dive play off right guard where he burst onto the second level. And he once again shined as a pass catcher, making highlight reel grabs on swing passes and immediately accelerating, making tacklers miss, and finishing his runs with authority.
Even with his backfield mate, Mark Ingram, also among the top-ten fantasy scorers at the position, Payton has morphed the Saints’ offense into a run-first offense, as they run the ball 47.3% of the time. With Kamara getting his fair share of those carries on top of being second on the team in catches, he should stay among the top tailbacks in fantasy.
Already putting up RB1 numbers, Kamara can’t do a whole lot more for dynasty owners. Despite that however, he’s just scratching the surface of his upside. If not for other rookie tailbacks putting up ridiculous numbers, he’d have dynasty owners going nuts over his elite potential – particularly in PPR leagues. He has elite PPR upside and could reach that same potential in standard leagues if he ever has the Saints’ backfield to himself.
Austin Ekeler, RB LAC
Week Ten Stats: 10 carries, 42 rushing yards (4.2 YPC), four receptions, 30 receiving yards, two touchdowns (four targets)
Like most, I had never heard of Ekeler until he emerged during the pre-season with the Chargers. When I tried to look him up back in August, I found out that he played at Western State University in Colorado but couldn’t even find his stats, let alone his tape. When I watched him play in week three of the preseason however, I saw enough to know that he had a chance to make the Chargers’ roster – as well as a fantasy impact.
Ekeler ran for 37 yards that day against the Rams and showed good quickness and surprising power for a guy that measures in at just 5’-9” and 195 pounds. He got to the edge on perimeter runs well, showed the ability to set up blocks, and finished his runs well by lowering his shoulder and always falling forward.
Following that game, I read that Ekeler not only had a chance to make Los Angeles’ roster, but could be the primary backup to Melvin Gordon. Having been impressed with the rookie a handful of days earlier, I picked him up in my deepest leagues.
Fast forward to week ten and I’m happy to have Ekeler on those rosters.
While he’s scored double-digit fantasy points (in PPR) just three times in nine games, Ekeler has made the most of his opportunities. Among his 44 touches, he already has four touchdowns. His 35-yard touchdown run (on his first career carry) in week four against the Eagles featured a nice jump cut into a running lane, an impressive burst to beat the unblocked linebacker through the hole, and excellent speed to out-race the Philadelphia secondary. On Sunday, he caught a pair of 20-plus yard touchdowns. His first came when he lined up in the slot, ran a head-snapping whip route before catching the ball in the right flat, accelerating past a pair of defenders and diving for the pylon. On his second score, he broke a tackle and showed great balance along the sideline before scoring from 28-yards out.
Overall, Ekeler has been impressive in limited opportunities and appears to be carving out a role as a pass catching specialist and change of pace runner behind Gordon. Although he’ll never truly cut into the starter’s carries, his role is growing slowly as he’s garnered double digit touches in two of the last three weeks and scored three times over that stretch.
While Ekeler will probably never get the ball enough to be a regular fantasy starter, he has some PPR upside as a flex play for owners needing to fill in due to injuries and bye weeks. A quality “end of the roster” player, Ekeler should be seen as a worthy handcuff to Gordon as well as a stash worth watching with RB3 upside in PPR leagues.
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