Alvin Kamara has been “a human highlight reel” this season.
The 5-foot-10, 215-pound running back currently leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage as he’s racked up 824 (460 receiving, 364 rushing) total yards.
“All the way around, in the run game, the screen game, the pass game, he's just such a dynamic player who can do so many things and so from game to game,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “Obviously, you know he's going to be active, whether it's going to be huge contributions in the run game or the pass game or whatever.”
But in making those highlight-reel plays, Kamara has demonstrated another trait that the Saints believe puts him in rare company — intelligence.
Head coach Sean Payton said, specifically, Kamara’s combination of intelligence and physical abilty is what makes the back so special.
Payton said that collection of traits reminded him of NFL Hall-of-Famer Marshall Faulk.
“I had a chance to coach him at San Diego State,” Payton said. “I’m not making the comparison. Again, they're different runners, but Faulk was extremely intelligent and talented, obviously. They're built differently, but I would say from a talent and intelligence level, Marshall was that way."
Kamara said he takes pride in being smart and able to quickly retain information.
“So there's times where even Coach (Joel) Thomas, I'm talking to him, and I'm like, ‘yo, just chill, like, I got it,’” Kamara said. “A lot of times, they're trying to tell me, you know, 'Hey, you've got this or you've got this on this play.' I'm like, ‘I got it.’”
“It may seem like I don't because I'm kind of like, I just got to try to have fun and keep it light. They're always checking on me like you know what you've got? I'm like, yeah, I've got it.”
Brees said he’s often witnessed how quickly Kamara picks things up.
“We have these tongue twister plays at times where you get in the huddle and it might be in practice and struggling through calling a play and Alvin will be the one to chime in and kind of give you the answer to the test,” Brees said.
Payton said that because Kamara learns so quickly that he sometimes gets bored in meetings and film sessions. He added that the coaching staff has found creative ways to keep the running back engaged though the years.
"Have you ever seen the fidget things you have that you spin, fidget spinners? We gave him one of those where you start spinning that little thing (laughter) or Latavius will start talking to him,” Payton said.
Kamara laughed when recalling the fidget spinner and joked that he’s waiting on the Payton’s plot to help keep him occupied. He did say that even though he picks up concepts easily, he still has to focus on certain aspects more than others like pass protection.
“Because so many teams like, especially I feel like when they play us, it's like a new wrinkle they throw in the game,” he said. “Even though it comes easy to me, it's like, sometimes it's so easy that I might just get lazy and my eyes (may) be somewhere else drifting off. I've kind of got to remind myself to just lock in a little bit more and be more attentive to certain details when it comes to pass protection.”
The former Tennessee standout got to show another aspect of his game in the Saints' last win - his arm.
In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s matchup with the Panthers, Kamara threw a backwards pass to Brees who found and open Tre’Quan Smith for a 23 yard gain.
"It was backwards, and it was a little ugly, but I think I'm trying to petition the throw the ball down the field,” Kamara said. “Next time I get swing or something, I might just tell like TQ (Tre'Quan Smith) to just run a go and I might just launch it or something.
“It's like one of those bad moments that turned into a good moment, like, ‘what is he doing? And then it's like, yeah, touchdown.’ I don't know. I need to throw the ball. I feel like my arm is getting a little tired. It's getting tired because it's not getting used. It's bored."
