By Charlie Campbell, @draftcampbell
Three years ago, we started a series of articles on why certain prospects went undrafted. In that series, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. We got a lot of positive reader feedback about the series, so we decided to expand in the genre to investigate why some prospects slid in the draft. A year later, we started the Why Slide? series, and this year, it is back. Feel free to email me requests for “Why the Slide?” and “Why Undrafted?” at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely respond.
Kamara was one of the prospects who had a serious buzz about him from start to finish in the draft process. Last season for the Volunteers, he was an explosive runner while being a tremendous receiver. Kamara put together some excellent game tape that got a lot of scouts excited. Some scouts were saying that Kamara could end up going late in the first round and looked like a solid second-rounder. Thus, it was surprise when Kamara went off the board in Round 3.
According to sources, Kamara graded out as a second-rounder, but he slipped in the 2017 NFL Draft mainly because the draft just fell that way. Some teams did have concerns about Kamara having the size and build to hold up with a heavy workload in the NFL. Still, there were comparisons with Kamara to NFL veteran Jamaal Charles, who was a steal for the Chiefs in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Kamara could be a repeat of Charles as a third-round steal who is a quick slashing runner and a dynamic receiver.
The New Orleans Saints traded with the 49ers in order to take Kamara in the second round. Many analysts have questioned the Saints’ trade of Kamara, but from the long-term perspective, it makes a lot of sense. Adrian Peterson is just a 1-year option, while Mark Ingram has been best when paired with another running back. Kamara also is a dynamic receiving option who is a great fit in New Orleans’ offense. Neither Peterson or Ingram are great receiving backs, so Kamara will be a superb fit for that role as a rookie to give the veterans a rest so they are fresher to pound the ball between the tackles. In a year or two, Kamara might prove to be the feature back for the Saints, but at the very least, he is a great mismatch weapon for Sean Payton’s offense. Kamara could end up being one of the steals of the second day of the 2017 NFL Draft.
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