Christian McCaffrey or Alvin Kamara ???
This Kamara/McCaffrey thread was started 1/26/24. At the time Kamara was coming off of one of his worst statistical seasons and McCaffrey coming off his best.
Reading back through this thread there were a lot of posts supporting Kamara from a Saints fan point of view and a lot supporting McCaffrey based on the moment.
Fast forward 8 months and 3 games into a new season. Kamara is off to a hot start and McCaffrey has yet to play a single down.
Kamara has a renewed burst in his game while McCaffrey is suffering from an Achilles that could force him to miss most if not all of the 2024 season.
The OP from 1/26/24
I saw somewhere yesterday (can't remember), where some sports media guy considered Christian McCaffrey the third best running back of all time.
While I think McCaffrey is an exceptional running back, I would not put him at third. (Sanders, Brown, Payton, Dickerson, Tomlinson come to mind first)
My personal opinion, I actually would take prime Alvin Kamara over prime McCaffrey.
But I am also bias towards Saints players.
So got to ask you guys.
Take off your Saints colored glasses and ask yourself, who you would take?
Both came out the same year, except AK went third round. AK won rookie of the Year
Now having observed both careers for several years. Would you still take AK over McCaffrey?
Would AK do as well in San Francisco with that offense as McCaffrey seems to be doing?
Who would you take for your team ???
Page 1 Post, 1/26/24
Kamara is much closer to Cmac than most non-saints fans would probably admit. Career numbers are very similar. Both 5 time probowlers, both 10K yards from Scrimmage, both right at 80 touchdowns.
I don't think either have the body of work to crack the top 10 of all time yet, but I think a case could be made that Kamara is at least on par with Cmac.
Page 2 Post, 1/26/24
While their stats are very similar, their circumstances have been pretty different. CMC was the best player on the Panthers by a mile during his time there while over the same time frame AK was competing for touches with Mark Ingram and Michael Thomas and having Brees as his QB. The last two years have been kind of the opposite with CMC being on a stacked team and AK being our best player without a lot of other options.
So it's kind of hard to judge who has really had the better career. I thought the Panthers were running CMC into the ground just to still finish with 5 wins regardless while AK was making the most of his touches while we were really winning. Yet here we are and the are less than 20 touches apart over their careers.
As a Saints fan, I'll choose AK. But major respect to CMC as well.
Page 6 Post, 1/30/24
Kamara needs to play in an offense with a zone blocking scheme as it plays to his strengths as a slasher and plays to his quickness.
Source of Stats: www.pro-football-reference.com
Career Stats For Both Players For Comparison:
Christian McCaffrey
Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | piece of work | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | 1D | Succ% | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | 1D | Succ% | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% | Y/Tgt | Touch | Y/Tch | YScm | RRTD | Fmb | AV | Awards |
|---|
| 2017 | 21 | CAR | NFL | RB | 16 | 10 | 117 | 435 | 2 | 22 | 45.3 | 40 | 3.7 | 27.2 | 7.3 | 113 | 80 | 651 | 8.1 | 5 | 37 | 50.4 | 37 | 5.0 | 40.7 | 70.8 | 5.8 | 197 | 5.5 | 1086 | 7 | 2 | 9 | |
|---|
| 2018 | 22 | CAR | NFL | RB | 16 | 16 | 219 | 1098 | 7 | 53 | 54.3 | 59 | 5.0 | 68.6 | 13.7 | 124 | 107 | 867 | 8.1 | 6 | 41 | 55.6 | 38 | 6.7 | 54.2 | 86.3 | 7.0 | 326 | 6.0 | 1965 | 13 | 4 | 16 | AP-2 |
|---|
| 2019 | 23 | CAR | NFL | RB | 16 | 16 | 287 | 1387 | 15 | 57 | 46.3 | 84 | 4.8 | 86.7 | 17.9 | 142 | 116 | 1005 | 8.7 | 4 | 58 | 59.9 | 28 | 7.3 | 62.8 | 81.7 | 7.1 | 403 | 5.9 | 2392 | 19 | 1 | 15 | PB,AP-1,AP OPoY-3 |
|---|
| 2020 | 24 | CAR | NFL | RB | 3 | 3 | 59 | 225 | 5 | 14 | 57.6 | 15 | 3.8 | 75.0 | 19.7 | 19 | 17 | 149 | 8.8 | 1 | 8 | 52.6 | 24 | 5.7 | 49.7 | 89.5 | 7.8 | 76 | 4.9 | 374 | 6 | 0 | 3 | |
|---|
| 2021 | 25 | CAR | NFL | RB | 7 | 7 | 99 | 442 | 1 | 20 | 50.5 | 18 | 4.5 | 63.1 | 14.1 | 41 | 37 | 343 | 9.3 | 1 | 21 | 65.9 | 32 | 5.3 | 49.0 | 90.2 | 8.4 | 136 | 5.8 | 785 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
|---|
| 2022 | 26 | 2TM | NFL | RB | 17 | 16 | 244 | 1139 | 8 | 59 | 48.4 | 49 | 4.7 | 67.0 | 14.4 | 108 | 85 | 741 | 8.7 | 5 | 36 | 52.8 | 49 | 5.0 | 43.6 | 78.7 | 6.9 | 329 | 5.7 | 1880 | 13 | 1 | 15 | PB,AP OPoY-7,AP CPoY-2 |
|---|
| 2022 | 26 | CAR | NFL | RB | 6 | 6 | 85 | 393 | 2 | 20 | 49.4 | 49 | 4.6 | 65.5 | 14.2 | 43 | 33 | 277 | 8.4 | 1 | 10 | 41.9 | 49 | 5.5 | 46.2 | 76.7 | 6.4 | 118 | 5.7 | 670 | 3 | 0 | 5 | |
|---|
| 2022 | 26 | SFO | NFL | RB | 11 | 10 | 159 | 746 | 6 | 39 | 47.8 | 38 | 4.7 | 67.8 | 14.5 | 65 | 52 | 464 | 8.9 | 4 | 26 | 60.0 | 38 | 4.7 | 42.2 | 80.0 | 7.1 | 211 | 5.7 | 1210 | 10 | 1 | 10 | |
|---|
| 2023 | 27 | SFO | NFL | RB | 16 | 16 | 272 | 1459 | 14 | 83 | 54.0 | 72 | 5.4 | 91.2 | 17.0 | 83 | 67 | 564 | 8.4 | 7 | 31 | 55.4 | 41 | 4.2 | 35.3 | 80.7 | 6.8 | 339 | 6.0 | 2023 | 21 | 3 | 18 | PB,AP-1,AP MVP-3,AP OPoY-1 |
|---|
| 7 Yrs | | 91 | 84 | 1297 | 6185 | 52 | 308 | 50.4 | 84 | 4.8 | 68.0 | 14.3 | 630 | 509 | 4320 | 8.5 | 29 | 232 | 55.7 | 49 | 5.6 | 47.5 | 80.8 | 6.9 | 1806 | 5.8 | 10505 | 81 | 12 | 81 | | | | |
|---|
Alvin Kamara
Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | piece of work | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | 1D | Succ% | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | 1D | Succ% | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% | Y/Tgt | Touch | Y/Tch | YScm | RRTD | Fmb | AV | Awards |
|---|
| 2017 | 22 | NOR | NFL | RB | 16 | 3 | 120 | 728 | 8 | 42 | 50.8 | 74 | 6.1 | 45.5 | 7.5 | 100 | 81 | 826 | 10.2 | 5 | 38 | 56.0 | 40 | 5.1 | 51.6 | 81.0 | 8.3 | 201 | 7.7 | 1554 | 13 | 1 | 16 | PB,AP-2,AP ORoY-1 |
|---|
| 2018 | 23 | NOR | NFL | RB | 15 | 13 | 194 | 883 | 14 | 57 | 58.2 | 49 | 4.6 | 58.9 | 12.9 | 105 | 81 | 709 | 8.8 | 4 | 31 | 52.4 | 42 | 5.4 | 47.3 | 77.1 | 6.8 | 275 | 5.8 | 1592 | 18 | 1 | 15 | PB |
|---|
| 2019 | 24 | NOR | NFL | RB | 14 | 9 | 171 | 797 | 5 | 32 | 50.9 | 40 | 4.7 | 56.9 | 12.2 | 97 | 81 | 533 | 6.6 | 1 | 28 | 44.3 | 41 | 5.8 | 38.1 | 83.5 | 5.5 | 252 | 5.3 | 1330 | 6 | 4 | 11 | PB |
|---|
| 2020 | 25 | NOR | NFL | RB | 15 | 10 | 187 | 932 | 16 | 58 | 53.5 | 49 | 5.0 | 62.1 | 12.5 | 107 | 83 | 756 | 9.1 | 5 | 35 | 44.9 | 52 | 5.5 | 50.4 | 77.6 | 7.1 | 270 | 6.3 | 1688 | 21 | 1 | 14 | PB,AP-2,AP OPoY-6 |
|---|
| 2021 | 26 | NOR | NFL | RB | 13 | 10 | 240 | 898 | 4 | 42 | 41.3 | 30 | 3.7 | 69.1 | 18.5 | 67 | 47 | 439 | 9.3 | 5 | 20 | 43.3 | 31 | 3.6 | 33.8 | 70.1 | 6.6 | 287 | 4.7 | 1337 | 9 | 0 | 8 | PB |
|---|
| 2022 | 27 | NOR | NFL | RB | 15 | 13 | 223 | 897 | 2 | 40 | 52.0 | 27 | 4.0 | 59.8 | 14.9 | 77 | 57 | 490 | 8.6 | 2 | 17 | 46.8 | 54 | 3.8 | 32.7 | 74.0 | 6.4 | 280 | 5.0 | 1387 | 4 | 4 | 8 | |
|---|
| 2023 | 28 | NOR | NFL | RB | 13 | 12 | 180 | 694 | 5 | 42 | 48.3 | 17 | 3.9 | 53.4 | 13.8 | 86 | 75 | 466 | 6.2 | 1 | 23 | 45.3 | 25 | 5.8 | 35.8 | 87.2 | 5.4 | 255 | 4.5 | 1160 | 6 | 0 | 8 | |
|---|
| 2024 | 29 | NOR | NFL | RB | 3 | 3 | 61 | 285 | 4 | 18 | 62.3 | 17 | 4.7 | 95.0 | 20.3 | 11 | 10 | 132 | 13.2 | 1 | 2 | 54.5 | 57 | 3.3 | 44.0 | 90.9 | 12.0 | 71 | 5.9 | 417 | 5 | 0 | | |
|---|
| 8 Yrs | | 104 | 73 | 1376 | 6114 | 58 | 331 | 50.9 | 74 | 4.4 | 58.8 | 13.2 | 650 | 515 | 4351 | 8.4 | 24 | 194 | 48.0 | 57 | 5.0 | 41.8 | 79.2 | 6.7 | 1891 | 5.5 | 10465 | 82 | 11 | 80 | | | | |
|---|
Career Rushing Attempts:
1,376 - Kamara
1,297 - McCaffrey
Career Yards Rushing:
6,185 - McCaffrey
6,114 - Kamara
Career Average Yards Per Rushing Attempt:
4.8 - McCaffrey
4.4 - Kamara
Career Number Of Receptions:
515 - Kamara
509 - McCaffrey
Career Regular Season Touchdowns:
82 - Kamara
81 - McCaffrey
Career Total Yards From Scrimmage:
10,505 - McCaffrey
10,465 - Kamara
Career Total All-Purpose Yardage:
11,129 - Kamara
10,725 - McCaffrey
Career Snap Counts:
4,783 - Offense - McCaffrey
4,355 - Offense - Kamara
110 - Special Teams - Kamara
56 - Special Teams - McCaffrey
Career Games Played:
104 - Kamara
91 - McCaffrey
By most all comparable statistics Kamara and McCaffrey are even. However, McCaffrey has put the numbers up in 13 fewer games played. Slight edge to CMAC.
McCaffrey has been used more heavily in the run game throughout his career per game.
In 2018 he had 966 offensive snaps with 218 rushing attempts. 2nd Highest in his Career.
In 2019 he had 1,039 offensive snaps with 287 rushing attempts. Highest in his Career.
In 2023 he had 812 snap counts and 272 rushing attempts. 3rd Highest in his Career
By comparison Kamara hasn't had single season in his career with more than 659 snap counts.
His highest number of rushing attempts was 240 in 2021, averaging 18.5 rushing attempts per game.
His 2nd highest number of rushing attempts was 223 in 2022, averaging 14.9 rushing attempts per game.
Those are the only two seasons that he has had more than 200 rushing attempts.
One thing to be slightly concerned about in 2024 is Kamara is averaging 20.3 Rushing Attempts Per Game through the first 3 games, the highest of his career.
At the pace he is currently on he will have 345 rushing attempts for 1,615 Yards. Both Career Highs. He has not rushed for over 1,000 yards yet in any season.
This is a Heavy Dose of AK41. KK may need to be cautious of wearing him down early in the season. Someone else needs to step up and take some of the load.