The New Orleans Saints are well set at RB for 2010
25-year old Pierre Thomas has really emerged after signing as a undrafted free agent out of Illinois three years ago. He played in 14 games (6 starts) for the Saints last season and he carried the ball 147 times for 793 yards (5.4 ypc) with 6 TD runs. Thomas also caught 39 passes for 302 yards (7.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year. Thomas has now played in 41 games (12 starts) in his three years with the Saints and he has carried the ball 328 times for 1,670 yards (5.1 ypc) with 16 TD runs. He also has caught 87 passes for 737 yards (8.5 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his NFL career. Thomas is the tough guy of the Saints’ RBs as he likes to run downhill. They need to keep him healthy in 2010.
25-year old Reggie Bush is back for more in 2010. He played in 14 games (8 starts) last season for the Saints in which he carried the ball 70 times for 390 yards (5.6 ypc) with 5 TD runs. Bush also caught 47 passes for 335 yards (7.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he returned 27 punts for 130 yards (4.8 avg). Bush has now played in 52 games (35 starts) in his four years with the Saints and he has carried the ball 488 times for 1,940 yards (4.0 ypc) with 17 TD runs. Bush has also caught 260 passes for 1,934 yards (7.4 avg) with 11 TD grabs. Bush has also returned 78 punts for 628 yards (8.1 avg) with 4 TD returns. The Saints would probably be smart to find someone else to return punts because Bush’s focus needs to be on offense in 2010.
24-year old Lynell Hamilton got his first real action in the NFL last season. Prior to last year, Hamilton played in 1 game in which he didn’t even touch the football. Hamilton played in 9 games (1 start) for the Saints last season in which he carried the ball 35 times for 125 yards (3.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs. He also caught 5 passes for 48 yards (9.6 avg) last year.
PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SAINTS RBs in 2010: B-
