7. Saints add Adrian Peterson, draft Alvin Kamara
The New Orleans Saints featured the NFL’s top-ranked offense last season, and running back Mark Ingram had a career year. Rushing for 1,043 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, adding another 319 yards on 46 receptions and scoring a total of 10 touchdowns, he was outstanding.
So it was pretty darn shocking when the Saints signed Adrian Peterson right before the draft. Many have wondered if Peterson will be a good fit considering how much the Saints pass the ball and because Ingram had such a great year in 2016.
It’s been reported that Peterson will back Ingram up, but given the superlatives we’ve heard from the Saints this offseason we’re not so sure.
Though, that’s not the extent of the shock factor. After landing Peterson, New Orleans doubled down, selecting Alvin Kamara out of Tennessee in the third round of the draft.
Suddenly, a team that features a quarterback who has the NFL record for most seasons throwing for more than 5,000 yards is going to feature a three-headed monster behind Drew Brees. This might be just what the doctor ordered for the Saints, who struggle defensively and need to control games a bit more because of that. But nobody saw this series of moves coming.