ESPN has begun rolling out its top-10 lists of the best players in the NFL at every position group, starting with the running backs, and New Orleans Saints star Alvin Kamara returned to the top after missing out last year. These lists are voted on by more than 70 anonymous personnel around the league; ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler describes them as “league executives, coaches and scouts” whose jobs rely on evaluating these players.

While none of those ballots ranked him higher than seventh, and some left him off altogether, Kamara was listed at No. 10 after just being an honorable mention last summer. Here’s what Fowler learned about him in speaking with those sources:

A premier back in our rankings for years, Kamara fell to honorable mention last year after a few down years. Though some evaluators see slight decline, Kamara fought his way back to the top 10 thanks to 1,503 scrimmage yards last year. Kamara appeared on nearly 60% of the voting ballots but none in the top six.

“Some of the elite traits are still there,” an NFL offensive coach said. “He didn’t have much of an offensive line or supporting cast last year. But he can still take a screen for big yardage and still has great contact balance.”

Kamara has eclipsed 600 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards in all eight seasons of his career. That’s already tied for the most such seasons in NFL history alongside (Marshall) Faulk.

Despite missing the final three games of last season, Kamara still accounted for 26% of New Orleans’ scrimmage yards in 2024, the seventh-highest mark of any player in the NFL.

Kamara, 29, is tied with Christian McCaffrey as the second-oldest players on this list behind the seemingly-immortal Derrick Henry (31); two other running backs are 28 years old, but the remaining five players are all 27 or younger. Running back is a young man’s position and there’s a good chance the two years left on Kamara’s contract will be his last.

So it’s encouraging to see him surging back to relevance. Kamara hasn’t reached the Pro Bowl since 2021 and the number of great young backs around the NFC mean his days on the all-star list may be over. But if he can keep on trucking and scoring touchdowns in 2025, he’ll go down as one of the most electrifying running backs in the history of the game. He’s already claimed nearly every record in the Saints’ history books. And this last stat may be his best: Kamara is tied with Faulk for the most successful two-point conversions in NFL history (7). Maybe this is the year he takes that title, too.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: After 2024 snubbing, ESPN ranks Saints RB Alvin Kamara top-10 for 2025