NFL Player News

Teammate Latavius Murray said Kamara looked like his usual self at June minicamp, Sam Shannon of the Saints' official website reports. "Alvin being Alvin," Murray said. "The same player that he's been over the last few years, and I'm sure he'll continue to be."

Kamara was under the spotlight last summer, eventually signing a five-year, $75 million extension one day before the Saints' season opener. Despite dealing with a hip issue around that same time, he went on to play 15 straight games before missing Week 17 on the COVID-19 list, finishing the regular season with career highs for rushing yards (932), total yards (1,688) and touchdowns (21). A repeat of that last number would be a tough ask under any conditions, and there's also some concern that Kamara could lose targets/catches in the post-Drew Brees era, especially if dual-threat Taysom Hill beats out Jameis Winston for the starting QB job. On the other hand, Kamara is one of the best running backs in the league, and the Saints return all five starters to what's consistently been a top-10 offensive line. Even with a degree of uncertainty for a second straight offseason, Kamara's floor/ceiling combination makes him a solid choice in the first half of the first round of fantasy drafts.

Murray believes he can continue to improve his efficiency, Sam Shannon of the Saints' official website reports.

Murray finished 2020 with his best numbers since his rookie season for yards per carry (4.5) and yards per target (6.8), producing 832 yards and five touchdowns on 169 touches. The workload was nearly identical to his first season in New Orleans, with Murray getting 11 fewer touches in one fewer game (he missed Week 17 in 2020). The 31-year-old running back then survived the Saints' offseason purge, despite carrying a non-guaranteed $2.95 million base salary in the third season of a four-year, $14.4 million contract. The Saints could still free up more than $2.3 million in cap space if Murray is released, but they'd likely have cut him in June if they were set on prioritizing the money over the player. While a poor training camp might put him in some danger, Murray currently appears set for a third straight season working behind superstar Alvin Kamara in the New Orleans backfield. Per usual, most of the fantasy appeal is based on what Murray might do if Kamara misses time, though it'll also depend on what the team's offense looks like with Jameis Winston and/or Taysom Hill replacing Drew Brees under center.

Mattison appears fairly secure in the second spot on Minnesota's depth chart, according to Eric Smith of the team's official website.

The Vikings lost Mike Boone to the Broncos in March, before selecting Kene Nwangwu in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Nwangwu made waves with a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at his pro day, but only after an unexciting college career in which he was limited to 150 total touches over four seasons at Iowa State. While the raw talent could eventually make him a threat, Nwangwu isn't likely to put up a serious challenge against Mattison this summer, considering the third-year pro has averaged 4.6 yards per carry and 9.0 per catch to this point in his career, with 219 touches in 26 NFL appearances. Dalvin Cook should continue to dominate backfield work, but Mattison is easily the best bet to handle whatever's left.

Williams could be a direct replacement at running back if David Montgomery misses time, Sean Hammond of the Daily Herald reports.

When Montgomery missed a game in 2020, the Bears lacked a reliable replacement, but after averaging 4.5 yards per carry in 2019 before opting out last year, Williams potentially fills that void in the offense. In addition, Williams caught 30 passes in his last year with the Chiefs, so he also could see involvement in the passing game. Unless his projected role is expected to grow, he'll likely be a depth option who could be available on waivers after fantasy drafts have concluded for fantasy managers.

Ahmed is expected to compete with Malcolm Brown, Gerrid Doaks and Patrick Laird for backup roles behind likely starting running back Myles Gaskins, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com reports.

Despite being an undrafted rookie, Ahmed started in four of his six games last season, highlighted by a 122-yard rushing performance in a Week 15 win over the Patriots. He averaged 4.3 yards on 75 carries and 5.6 yards on 11 catches, while Gaskin had 4.1 YPC on 142 carries and 9.5 YPR on 41 receptions. The Dolphins declined to make any splashy backfield additions in the offseason, settling for Brown in free agency and Doaks in the seventh round of the draft. Ahmed thus has a shot to earn the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, but it's also possible a poor summer could put him on the wrong side of preseason cuts.

Hines may face tougher competition for snaps this season, but he'll still have plays specifically designed to get him the ball, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.

Marlon Mack's Achilles tear in Week 1 last year left the Colts with Hines, Jonathan Taylor and Jordan Wilkins in the backfield. Each of the four is still with the team, and Taylor is locked in for a sizable workload after exploding for 723 total yards and eight touchdowns over the final five weeks of his rookie season. If Taylor stays healthy, it'll be tough for Hines to match his career-best 2020 campaign, though he should still earn most of the backfield snaps in clear passing situations. He's entering the final year of his rookie contract, and his impressive work on punt returns (14.9-yard average, two touchdowns on 39 career attempts) will give his agent some extra ammo in negotiations for an extension. Colts owner Jim Irsay said linebacker Darius Leonard and offensive tackle Braden Smith will be the priorities for extensions this offseason, but Irsay at least mentioned Hines as a third candidate for a new deal among the team's 2018 draft class, according to Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star.

Evans looked fast during spring practices and could earn a role in the Tennessee offense this season, Joe Rexrode of The Athletic reports.

The 2020 third-round pick was limited to five games and 16 touches as a rookie, with recurring hamstring injuries affecting his availability. Now healthy, Evans will challenge Jeremy McNichols for snaps on passing downs, while free-agent acquisition Brian Hill is the chief competition to spell bell cow Derrick Henry on early downs. Even if he wins both roles, Evans will have a hard time establishing mainstream fantasy value unless Henry misses time. Apart from Henry, Tennessee tailbacks accounted for only 150 carries and 55 targets over the past two years combined.

Offseason addition Damien Williams could spell Montgomery at times this season, Sean Hammond of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Montgomery averaged 17.0 carries and 4.9 targets in 12 games after Tarik Cohen went down with a season-ending injury early in 2020, typically playing more than 80 percent of Chicago's offensive snaps. The heavy workload didn't lead to big numbers right away, but Montgomery was a high-end RB1 over the final six weeks of the season, piling up 598 rushing yards, 225 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns in that stretch. While there's no longer any doubt about his ability to handle a three-down role, Montgomery could see a modest workload reduction in 2021 with Williams and Cohen working behind him, rather than last year's substandard backup group of Cordarrelle Patterson, Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce. Still, there's no doubt about Montgomery being the starter, lead runner and primary goal-line back.

Freeman is on the roster bubble after Denver added running backs Javonte Williams and Mike Boone in the offseason, ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold reports.

Williams was a second-round draft pick, and Boone signed a two-year contract that includes $2.6 million guaranteed. Even if the latter move was more about special teams than offense, it gives Boone a level of security that Freeman doesn't have. Freeman has averaged only 4.0 yards per carry and 5.9 yards per catch in 46 games for the Broncos, failing to meet expectations after coming off the board 71st overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. If Freeman does make the team, it might just be as a third-down specialist behind Williams and Melvin Gordon.

Edwards-Helaire and QB Patrick Mahomes both have suggested the Chiefs should throw more passes to running backs this season, ESPN's Adam Teicher reports.

Mahomes also mentioned Jerick McKinnon, Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson as pass-catching options out of the backfield, but it's Edwards-Helaire who figures to play the most snaps and run the most routes. The second-year pro reportedly focused on improving his receiving skills this offseason, after catching only 36 of 54 targets (66.7 percent) for 297 yards (5.5 YPT) and one touchdown in his debut campaign. Edwards-Helaire caught 55 passes his senior season at LSU, with his work in that area seemingly playing a big role in the Chiefs' decision to draft him with the 32nd overall pick in 2020. As such, the 22-year-old back still has a shot to earn a three-down role, though Williams and McKinnon would also be reasonable picks to handle obvious passing downs. The team's running backs accounted for 18.2 percent of the total targets last year, the 16th-highest rate in the league. That number was slightly lower in Mahomes' first season as a starter (2018 - 16.9 percent) and slightly higher in his second year (2019 - 19.9 percent).