Saints' star back Alvin Kamara 'didn't know what was going on' at times in his rookie year

METAIRIE — If newly acquired Saints running back Latavius Murray, formerly of Minnesota and Oakland, did not know that Alvin Kamara was one of the kings of New Orleans, he found out on Wednesday during mini-camp.

Kamara was surrounded by cameras and reporters at his locker when Murray went to the shower after practice, and Kamara was still surrounded by cameras and reporters when Murray returned from the shower and found his way to his nearby locker.

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Murray, a free agent signing last March to replace Saints veteran back Mark Ingram now with Baltimore, looked on in amazement and said, "This a podcast?"

As a crowd of reporters and players laughed, Kamara laughed and just kept talking.

Kamara, who will be entering his third season in 2020 after two spectacularly versatile campaigns, remains comfortable in his skin, in his role, and in his adopted city of New Orleans.

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"It's cool. I mean it's a cool city," said Kamara, a native of Norcross, Georgia, near Atlanta. "I just feel like I fit in, so it's easy to move around and kick it and be out in the community and move the way I move. I don't know. It's just natural, it seems organic. I knew people out here, too, so it was easy to maneuver."

Kamara can be found eating pasta at Marcello's Restaurant & Wine Bar or lobster at Desi Vega's Steakhouse — both on St. Charles Avenue in the Warehouse District — or enjoying egg fa wagyu at Doris Metropolitan Restaurant on Chartres in the French Quarter. For music, he likes the Jazz Market on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard in the central business district.

"I mean, there's a lot going on in New Orleans," he said. "There are so many spots to eat. There are spots I haven't been to yet."

There has been much going on for the Saints' offense with Kamara in the backfield the last two years:

► He is only the fourth running back in pro football history to gain at least 500 rushing and 500 receiving yards in his first two seasons along with Abner Haynes (1960-68), Herschel Walker (1983-97) and Edgerrin James (1999-2009). He reached half of 1,000 in his NFL Rookie of the Year season in 2017 in only 11 games.

► His 6.07 yards per rush in 2017 was the most ever by an NFL rookie running back with more than 100 carries.

► With 728 rushing yards and 826 receiving yards in 2017, he became just the third 700-700 NFL rookie and was named NFL offensive rookie of the year. He added another 883 rushing and 709 receiving last season.

► Kamara and Ingram were the first pair of Pro Bowl backs from the same team in 2017.

But Ingram, who formed a dynamic duo with Kamara, is gone and much to replace for Murray.

"Latavius is cool," Kamara said. "He's working and getting better every day. He may have some tips for me. I've got tips for him. He's still figuring it out. Figuring out Drew Brees, figuring out the offense. He wants to learn, and he wants to be good. He's not worrying about trying to come in and fill somebody's shoes. He's worrying about being him. That's the biggest thing."

That's worked for Kamara, a media darling for natural conversation as opposed to big or controversial talk.

"I think it just naturally happened," he said. "I don't think I came into it trying to form something or to create an identity or anything like that. It was just like, 'It's me. I'm walking into the locker room. I'm walking into the NFL.' And I'm going to continue to be me. And however anybody feels about it, it is what it is. Not to be rude or disrespectful, I don't really care what anybody else thinks. Me being me is enough, and that's it."

Yet, on the field, he lets only his play do the talking — 1,611 yards rushing with 22 touchdowns, 1,535 yards receiving with nine touchdowns, 473 yards on kickoff returns with one touchdown and 82 yards on punt returns over two seasons. He is not a trash talker, though he has the vocabulary.

"I definitely could come up with some stuff," he said. "Oh, I definitely could. But when I'm playing, it's just a different zone. I don't really waste my time too much."

Kamara advised Murray to focus on "figuring out" Brees because that has taken up much of his time — particularly his rookie year.

"Drew's been playing for so long," he said. "He's seen every defense that there's ever been."

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Brees, 40, will enter his 19th season in 2020 fresh off establishing two of the most significant new NFL career records with 74,437 yards passing and 6,586 completions.

"From my first year to now, there were a lot of things I was trying to figure out," Kamara said. "I took a step back and was like, 'All right, well, if I want to be the best, then I've got to know what the best knows.' And I think Drew is probably one of the (smartest) — if not the smartest — people playing football right now. I can only get better if I know as much as Drew or try to be on the same page at least as Drew."

And it was not easy.

"Everybody said I made it look easy, but sometimes I was out there, and I didn't know what was going on," he said. "I'm always going to act smarter than I am.

"Two-minute drill my rookie year was horrible. That was dreadful. I was going to sleep, and I was like, 'Man, we got two-minute tomorrow.' After we got done doing two-minute at practice, I was thinking about the next two-minute practice. So sometimes, I might not know, but I'm going to act like I know. Yeah, you've got to fake it to you make it."

He has made it and may have faked Brees in the process.

"He picks up on things very quickly," Brees said. "He's a highly intelligent guy. He's pretty inquisitive."

Brees did catch Kamara a few times acting like he knew what was going on when he didn't.

"He'll be calling the play, and he'll catch my eye," Kamara said. "And I'll be like, 'What?' And he'll be like, 'You got the play?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I do.'"

But Brees knew he didn't and told him exactly what to do.

"If I don't know something, I'll say, 'Drew, what do you want from me on this?' He's good about that," Kamara said.

Now, it's about continuing to make sure the opponents do not know what is next out of Kamara.

"I'm so anxious to see like, 'What else?' You know what I'm saying? What else could I do? Where else could I line up? How else could I be successful? That's the best part of this profession for me," he said. "What's the next step you're going to take? 'Ok, he was good last year. How are you going to prove that you are what you are?'"

That is up to Brees and coach Sean Payton.

"It starts with some of the stuff he does extremely well now that still sells," Payton said. "Meaning that it is still really, really good. He's got the ability to return punts, return kicks. His flexibility in the passing game and in the running game allows you to do a lot. He has real, real, exceptionally high football IQ, so he can get bored with it."

That usually does not last long, and Kamara still feels somewhat like a rookie — just more knowledgeable.

"I don't feel like a vet," he said. "It's my third year, but it's been quick. I still feel like I consider myself a younger guy still. But my rookie year, it was more like, 'Shoot, I hope I don't mess up.' Now, I'm smart. I'll say I'm an A-plus. I'm in the top percentile right now."