Devin Neal

9 games as a rookie, 206 rushing yards on 57 carries — a late-season emergence under Kamara.

Neal's rookie season is a textbook late-season usage curve: a single carry through Week 7, then a steady role expansion driven by Alvin Kamara's snap management and Kendre Miller's injuries.

From Week 12 onward, Neal averaged 11.8 carries/game and 40.8 yards/game — workhorse-adjacent numbers for a 6th-round rookie. Total rookie line: 9 games, 57 carries, 206 yards, 2 TDs, 17 catches for 104 receiving yards.

Why it matters. A 6th-round RB posted starter-level carry volume over the Saints' final month, suggesting the coaching staff had identified him as the most reliable option outside Kamara.

Week 14 vs TB: 19 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD — his highest PPR game of the season.

Week 14 at Tampa Bay (Saints won 24-20): Neal's 19-carry, 70-yard, 1 rush TD, 1 catch for 14 yards performance was his career-high PPR game (15.4 fantasy points). It was his second straight game with double-digit carries, after 14 carries in Week 13 vs MIA.

The 19-carry workload was the largest single-game carry share any NO back had received in 2025 outside Kamara's week-to-week load. Kendre Miller's season-high was 11 carries (Week 4); Neal topped that in his second full-opportunity game.

Why it matters. A 19-carry game for a backup 6th-round rookie on the road, in a game his team ultimately won, signals that the coaching staff had already shifted its short-yardage trust to Neal over the more-pedigreed Miller and Estimé.

Week 12 receiving: 5 catches for 43 yards on 7 targets — Neal's most productive pass-game game.

Of Neal's 17 catches as a rookie, 5 came in Week 12 vs ATL on 7 targets — the highest single-game reception total of any Saints RB after Kamara that season. He converted those into 43 receiving yards (8.6 ypc), which made it his most productive receiving outing of the year.

On the full 2025 season, Neal caught 17 of 19 targets (89.5% catch rate) for 104 yards — 6.1 yards per reception. That efficiency on check-down and intermediate work is the kind of pass-game reliability that earns RBs a role on third down.

Why it matters. An 89.5% catch rate on 19 targets, combined with heavy late-season carry volume, suggests Neal can handle a three-down role rather than being a pure between-the-tackles back.

12th among 2025 RB rookies in carries — in 9 games, not 17.

Neal finished 12th among 2025 RB rookies in carries (57) despite playing only 9 games — compared to 15-17 for most of the players ahead of him on this list. On a per-game basis (6.3 carries/gm), he ranks solidly in the middle tier, behind first-rounders Jeanty and Henderson but ahead of most later-round picks in the class.

Why it matters. Ranking 12th among an entire RB rookie class in carries after just 9 games — many in token roles — shows how rapidly the Saints shifted their RB2 allocation to a 6th-round pick.

First NFL TD: Week 14 vs TB. Second NFL TD: Week 15 vs CAR. Back-to-back games as a rookie.

Week 14 vs TB: 1 rushing TD, his first. Week 15 vs CAR: 1 rushing TD, his second.

Two straight games with a touchdown on the ground at the end of his rookie year is a strong indicator that the Saints' staff trusts Neal in goal-line / short-yardage carries. Both TDs came inside the 5-yard line, on first or second down — not vulture work.

Why it matters. Back-to-back rushing TDs in a rookie's first two scoring opportunities — both in short-yardage situations — is the clearest possible vote of confidence from the coaching staff about who gets the ball at the goal line.

184th overall pick out of Kansas — more carries and TDs than Kendre Miller despite playing 5 fewer games.

Neal was the 184th pick (6th round) out of Kansas in the 2025 draft. Kendre Miller — a 2023 3rd-round pick (71st overall out of TCU) — was New Orleans' designated handcuff back entering the season. By the time Neal went to RES in Week 15, he had 57 carries and 2 TDs to Miller's 47 carries and 1 TD, across 9 games vs Miller's 7 games before his own IR stint.

New Orleans has rotated RBs aggressively behind Kamara for two seasons. Neal outpacing a pedigreed 3rd-rounder in both volume and scoring — as a 6th-round pick from a non-powerhouse program — is the defining narrative of his rookie year.

Why it matters. A late-round pick from Kansas beating out a premium investment at the same position on the same team challenges the Saints' pre-season depth chart and sets up a genuine competition heading into 2026.