Much-needed changes are coming for the New Orleans Saints rushing attack. The team already made a behind-the-scenes change by firing run game coordinator T.J. Paganetti and empowering offensive line coach Brendan Nugent to take charge of the operation (which, admittedly, won't look much different. Nugent has led those meetings and field work all season). Now they're changing personnel, too.
On Tuesday, the Saints announced that they had claimed running back Audric Estime off of waivers from the Cleveland Browns. He's a player they probably shouldn't have let go in the first place. Estime ran hard late last year and did well throughout the summer, but an untimely injury in the preseason sidelined him during roster cuts. The Saints put him on injured
reserve to start the season but released him with an injury settlement. After spending some time with the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns (who the Saints play this week), he's back.
But that's not all. The Saints are going to decide on Wednesday whether or not veteran rusher Travis Etienne Jr. is ready to return from injured reserve. He went down with a hamstring injury and missed the next three games, and the bye week, after signing a lucrative free agent contract with his hometown team. If he's healthy, Etienne is the unchallenged No. 1 rusher in the room, but we have to wait and see if he's been given the green light. Just because he's eligible to return now doesn't mean the team's medical staff is ready to clear him to play.
Here's what the depth chart looks like after re-signing Estime, and with this development for Etienne:
1. Travis Etienne Jr. (on injured reserve)
Etienne consistently outsnapped the other running backs in the opening weeks, seeing more carries and targets than anyone else out of the backfield. He's also the clearest big-play threat they have. The only question is how soon he can get back on the field.
2. Alvin Kamara
The vision was for Kamara to compliment Etienne as a change-of-pace back, but he's had to handle more responsibilities than the team expected after Etienne's injury. He has twice as many targets on passing downs as CJ Donaldson and Kendre Miller in four games without Etienne.
3. CJ Donaldson
Donaldson's work in pass protection and short-yardage rushing attempts won more reps for himself, but a recent shoulder injury slowed him down. He leads the group in pass blocking snaps and yards per carry (5.4) in their last four games, and outsnapped Miller 4-to-1 on the scripted opening drive against the Pittsburgh Steelers before that injury ended his afternoon early.
4. Kendre Miller
Miller leads the Saints in rushing attempts over their last four games before the bye week (44 carries for 115 yards, a rate of just 2.6) but his role is almost nonexistent on passing downs. He's only been asked to pick up the blitz seven times with eight targets as a receiver. He's reportedly at the center of trade talks with other teams. Getting Estime and Etienne back could make him expendable before the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline.
5. Audric Estime
We'll see what the plan is for Estime, but he averaged twice as many yards per carry as Miller did in the preseason (8.2 versus 4.3) and looked like a good pick to make the 53-man roster before Spencer Rattler set him up for a big hit on a bad ball. Estime suffered an ankle injury and is finally back where he belongs.
6. Zamir White (practice squad)
White hasn't been called up for a single regular season game since the Saints traded for him, though he did have some nice moments in the preseason finale (averaging 5.8 yards per carry and scoring a touchdown). It's a little disappointing that he hasn't gotten a chance with the run game stagnating, but he probably would have had the same struggles as everyone else behind a bad offensive line.
7. Jarquez Hunter (practice squad)
This spot has been churned quite a bit, with Hunter replacing Ulysses Bennet IV a couple of weeks ago after the Miami Dolphins let him go. He also hasn't gotten a look while the Saints have fielded a bottom-five run game. He may be on the outs with Estime and Etienne getting back in the mix.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Updated Saints running backs depth chart after Audric Estime reunion
