- Injury-riddled begin: Kendre Miller‘s early NFL profession with the New Orleans Saints was marked by a number of accidents, limiting his on-field time regardless of displaying sturdy per-play potential when wholesome.
- Potential Breakout Year: Looking to 2025, Miller has a possibility to carve out a extra vital function within the Saints’ offense. There is a chance he competes for carries alongside Alvin Kamara and capitalizes on an improved offensive line.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
PFF’s Fantasy Football Player Profile sequence delivers probably the most in-depth fantasy soccer evaluation out there for the 2025 season.
Using PFF’s unique information, we consider participant efficiency, competitors for touches and the way teammates and training staffs
Last up to date: 7:15 a.m. Friday, June 13
Player efficiency
The New Orleans Saints spent a number of years giving Alvin Kamara minimal competitors for snaps out of the backfield. The Saints tried to vary that in 2023 by including Jamaal Williams in free company and Kendre Miller with the 71st choose of the draft. Miller didn’t take part in pre-draft exercises because of an MCL harm, then he handled a knee harm and a hamstring harm earlier than the beginning of the 2023 season.
He made his regular-season debut in Week 3, as Kamara was coping with a suspension and Williams was out because of an harm. This led Miller to steer the group in carries at 9, culminating in 34 yards. He barely performed in Week 4 however obtained 12 carries for 37 yards within the Saints’ blowout win in Week 5. Williams returned from harm, main Miller to barely play in Weeks 6-9. Miller suffered an ankle harm that price him seven video games. He returned in Week 18, the place he ran 13 occasions for 73 yards and a landing in one other blowout victory.
A hamstring harm price Miller all of his 2024 coaching camp and the primary 5 video games of the season. He performed 20 snaps in Week 7 and one other 10 in Week 8 earlier than one other hamstring harm to his different leg price him one other 4 video games. The Saints made Miller an enormous a part of the offense upon his return. Miller ran 10 occasions for 32 yards and a landing in his first week again. Kamara suffered an harm in his second sport again, the place he ran 9 occasions for 46 yards. He began the next two weeks however suffered a concussion in Week 17, costing him Week 18.
Miller’s per-game stats haven’t been nice, as he’s primarily been a backup and has left a number of video games early. However, his per-play numbers in each the run and cross sport are comparatively sturdy. Both his prevented tackles per speeding try and yards per route run rank among the many prime six amongst operating backs over the past two seasons.
It’s price noting that Miller is comparatively younger for a operating again regardless of his expertise. He might be 23 earlier than the beginning of the season, making him youthful than a number of rookie operating backs, together with second-round choose R.J. Harvey.
Projected function
The Saints moved on from Jamaal Williams however added Clyde Edwards-Helaire late final season, and drafted Devin Neal within the sixth spherical of the draft. Miller is almost definitely to win the backup job if he can keep wholesome. Miller is the largest operating again of the 4. He’s performed at a excessive fee on brief yardage over the past two seasons. There is a minimum of an opportunity he can take a few of the goal-line work.
There is not any assure Miller wins the backup job. The Saints have a brand new teaching workers, and that new workers determined to draft Neal and convey again Edwards-Helaire. However, there may be additionally an opportunity Miller might earn some taking part in time from Kamara. Miller’s speeding grade is barely higher than Kamara’s over the past two seasons. The two have similar yards per carry, as Miller has extra yards after contact per try and twice as many prevented tackles per run. Miller has a barely greater first-down fee. There is a seven-year age hole between Kamara and Miller, and Miller is extra seemingly to enhance whereas Kamara is extra prone to decline. It’s definitely attainable Miller can pull even with Kamara on early downs, even when Kamara stays the receiving again.
Impact of teammates
The Saints added Kellen Moore as their new head coach. Moore’s offenses have usually had a excessive play rely, permitting them to rank above common in run makes an attempt, however a low fee of concentrating on operating backs. He’s had a number of top-10 fantasy operating backs with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard with the Dallas Cowboys and Saquon Barkley final season with the Philadelphia Eagles. While Moore has usually used a veteran operating again as his lead again, in 2022, Pollard reduce considerably into Elliott’s taking part in time, and Miller might equally reduce into Kamara’s taking part in time. On the intense facet, Moore has stated Miller will get a contemporary slate to maneuver on from his harm historical past and previous with the earlier teaching workers. However, Moore has spoken glowingly of Kamara.
The Saints had a top-10 run-blocking offensive line final season as a result of the group continuously prioritized the road from the NFL draft. Center Erik McCoy was a transparent sturdy level with an elite 94.6 run-blocking grade, however he was solely capable of play seven video games. The group moved on from their oldest veteran, Lucas Patrick, in favor of Kelvin Banks Jr., New Orleans’ first-round rookie. Considering all the accidents to the inside elements of the road, there’s a likelihood the road might rank even greater than the highest 10 this season. Miller averages 7.1 yards per stick with it completely blocked runs in comparison with 2.8 on non-perfectly blocked runs. Miller ought to see a better fee of completely blocked runs this 12 months, serving to his efficiency.
Bottom line
Kendre Miller is extra high-risk, high-reward than the same old operating again. There is a minimum of a chance Miller can lead the group in speeding yards even when Alvin Kamara stays wholesome your entire season. However, Miller additionally has an in depth harm historical past over a brief NFL profession, and it’s attainable another person wins the backup job in New Orleans.
Footnotes
- Statistics in tables and charts had been chosen primarily based on their skill to foretell future fantasy efficiency on a per-game or per-opportunity foundation or to explain the participant relative to others on the similar place.
- “Opportunities” are outlined as passing dropbacks, speeding makes an attempt and routes run as a receiver.
- Numbers are offered both by season or primarily based on the previous three years. For rookies, solely school statistics are included. For non-rookies, solely NFL statistics are thought-about, no matter whether or not they performed in school inside the earlier three years.
- As school competitors is simpler than NFL competitors, most rookies are prone to see a decline from their historic numbers.
- Only FBS information is taken into account for school gamers and comparisons.
- Kneel-downs are faraway from speeding information to supply cleaner quarterback speeding fee statistics.
- The desk colours on this article vary from blue (indicating good/excessive) to purple (indicating unhealthy/low).
- All percentiles and shade codings evaluate the given participant to others with a excessive pattern of alternatives. Generally, the cutoff is one-third of the attainable alternatives within the pattern. If a participant doesn’t meet the edge, they’re nonetheless included within the comparability, although their outcomes could seem higher or worse than anticipated as a result of smaller, much less predictive pattern measurement.
- Information on utilization classifications and their significance could be discovered right here for operating backs, vast receivers and tight ends.