Alvin Kamara – RB – Tennessee – 5’10” – 214 pounds
A couple of weeks ago, I previewed Alvin Kamara in my post on possible early round running back prospects. In that post, I called Kamara a perfect fit for Andy Reid’s offense and said that he’d be an absolute steal in the late second round. After watching Kamara’s combine performance, I will double down on him being the best fit for Andy Reid’s West Coast offense in this entire draft. The only problem is I now believe there is absolutely no chance that the Chiefs will be able to land Kamara in the second round. Now the question becomes if he is an option in the first round at pick number 27?
On tape you can see Kamara’s athleticism and big play potential. He backed that up at the Combine with a 4.56 forty time. While that isn’t record breaking speed, it isn’t far behind first round prospects like Dalvin Cook (4.49) and Christian McCaffrey (4.48). Where Kamara really showed his athleticism was in the vertical and broad jumps where he finished first in both amongst all running backs. For comparison, his vertical was NINE INCHES higher than Cook’s and his broad jump was FIFTEEN INCHES longer.
While the scouting world was raving over McCaffrey’s abilities as a pass catcher, the truth is that Kamara isn’t far behind him in this area. Unlike McCaffrey though, Kamara has the body mass to be able to absorb more NFL caliber punishment between the tackles.
When I watch Kamara on tape I see a player that looks like the next Brian Westbrook or LeSean McCoy in Andy Reid’s offense. I know some people would freak out if the Chiefs drafted any running back in the first round, let alone a guy that wasn’t even the featured back on his college team, but I think KC fans need to consider Kamara as a first round option. In fact, I’m such a fan that I won’t fall out of my chair if Kamara goes before Cook on draft day.
When you factor in that he’s quick, athletic, catches the ball great, can pass protect, and has little “wear on his tires” thanks to the fact that he split carries in college, I just think Kamara is going to surprise people on draft day and I wouldn’t be upset at all if the Chiefs were the one to take him.
Next up, a small school tight end.