The Saints are absolutely loaded at running back for the 2007 season.  It all starts with Deuce McAllister who rushed for over 1,000 yards again last season.  He played in 15 games (13 starts) last season for the Saints and he carried the ball 244 times for 1,057 yards (4.3 ypc) with 10 TD runs and he also caught 30 passes for 198 yards (6.6 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  Look for the Saints to lessen McAllister’s workload a bit in 2007 but he will still probably lead the Saints in rushing.  He has now played in 81 games (67 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,298 times for 5,586 yards (4.3 ypc) with 44 TD runs and he also has caught 212 passes for 1,577 yards (7.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

Reggie Bush will likely shoulder a little more of the load in the running game this season.  He is an electric performer that has those freakish kind of Play Station moves that often make defenders look silly in the open field.  He played in all 16 games last season (8 starts) for the Saints and he carried the ball 155 times for 565 yards (3.6 ypc) with 6 TD runs and he also caught 88 passes for 742 yards (8.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Bush also returned 28 punts for 216 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD return.  Bush is only scratching the surface of his potential so far this season.

Rookie Antonio Pittman runs with a similar style of Deuce McAllister.  He doesn’t look like a power back because of his size but he’s a great runner between the tackles.  He also has much more speed than opponents give him credit for as he can run away from defenders if he gets behind them.  Don’t look for Pittman to get a lot of carries as a rookie but he will in the near future.

Aaron Stecker also plays a little receiver at times so he is a valuable little performer for the Saints.  He played in 12 games last season and he carried the ball 4 times for 11 yards (2.8 ypc) and he caught 19 passes for 190 yards (10.0 avg).  Stecker also returned 10 kickoffs for 216 yards (21.6 avg) this season.  Stecker might be low on the depth chart but the Saints are glad to have him and they will put him to some use this season.  Stecker has now played in 98 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 258 times for 1,020 yards (4.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he also caught 116 passes for 878 yards (7.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Stecker also has returned 159 kickoffs for 3,733 yards (23.5 avg) with 1 TD return.

Jamaal Branch will have a hard time making the team this season.  He played in 1 game at the end of the season and he carried the ball 10 times for 29 yards (2.9 ypc) and he caught 5 passes for 14 yards (2.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.