Fantasy Football RB Rankings 2019: The Case For Alvin Kamara At No. 1 Overall

In most leagues, the choices at No. 1 overall are Giants RB Saquon Barkley and Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott. If you’re playing in a full-PPR league, that duo is often expanded to include Panthers RB Christian McCaffery. The name I want to include, however, is Alvin Kamara of the Saints. Here, I’ll make the case for choosing Kamara in any format if you find yourself at No. 1 overall.

The biggest reason to take Barkley, Elliott or McCaffery is volume. In fantasy football, opportunity usually overrides talent, and when major talent melds with major opportunity, first round picks are made. No one in their right mind would make an argument that Kamara doesn’t belong in this group in terms of his ability; he simply hasn’t been given the same workload as those guys because he’s shared the backfield with Mark Ingram.

The thing is, even with less touches, Kamara has still been right up there.

Last season Kamara scored more points per game than the other three and scored more touchdowns than all of them while playing one fewer game than Barkley or McCaffery. He received less work on the ground, but still averaged 4.6 yards per carry,  and he scored 14 touchdowns just as a rusher. He did absolutely fine as a pure ball carrier, even if he’s not held in quite as high esteem as a guy like Zeke. Part of that is Kamara’s unreal mix of speed and power, but it’s also partially due to sharing an offense with Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees and stud WR Michael Thomas. Kamara is a key cog in one of the NFL’s best, most balanced offenses, and Sean Payton leans heavily on the run these days as Brees’ age continues climbing.

But hey, you’re still thinking that despite all that, you’ll take the guaranteed bigger workloads. I get it. But Ingram is gone, and while the Saints did bring in veteran Latavius Murray, letting Ingram walk has to signal faith in giving Kamara more work. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kamara crack 300 carries/targets in 2019, and at his pace that could be enough for him to blow by the other elite RBs.

Then, we have to consider his competition. Barkley is a god among men, but he’s in an offense with an aging QB (Eli Manning) who could give way to a questionable rookie (Daniel Jones) that just lost Odell Beckham Jr., one of the premier receiving talents in the league. If you thought there was a heavy burden on Barkley last season, it’s not hard to envision him struggling like Todd Gurley did in 2016. Elliott is probably as safe as it gets, but his offensive line isn’t quite the juggernaut it used to be, and he too is saddled with a sub-optimal QB (Dak Prescott). Having WR Amari Cooper in tow is also a plus for the Dallas offense, but it could lessen their reliance on Elliott in the red zone a bit. McCaffery is very similar to Kamara, but he’s a bit less explosive, and he’s not as built for short yardage pounding. He also has QB Cam Newton to vulture TDs away from him, whereas Brees is never going to run unless absolutely necessary.

It's easy to pick Barkley or Zeke and you wouldn’t be wrong for doing so. Despite the dings on them entering the season, they’re in line for huge workloads and monster stats. Barkley in particular may be the best RB of this generation. But he’s also in a far inferior offense. Safe is always better than sorry in the early rounds, and especially at No. 1 overall. Still, Kamara is very safe himself, and is the right choice if you are truly aiming for the stars with the first overall pick.