DevinNeal

News: 5 days agoNeal accrued 14 rushes for 47 yards and reeled in all three targets for 22 yards during Sunday's 21-17 loss against the Dolphins.

Spin: Neal handled the bulk of the Saints' carries en route to career highs in rushing attempts and yards. The rookie served in the top role in the absence of RB1 Alvin Kamara, who was inactive after suffering an MCL sprain during last week's loss to Atlanta. Neal didn't end uph having to truly split work out of the backfield, as the only other two running backs on the roster, Evan Hull and Audric Estime, logged five and zero carries, respectively. Meanwhile, Taysom Hill recorded just one rushing attempt as the change-of-pace dual-threat QB. With Kamara expected to miss more time moving forward, Neal seems set for moderate usage as the Saints' No. 1 running back for the time being. The Saints face the Buccaneers on the road in Week 14.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Neal was selected by the Saints in the sixth round of April's draft. He isn't super-fast (4.58 40-yard dash, 1.59 10-yard split), but has decent size and was a solid producer during four seasons at Kansas. That tenure included 760 carries (second most in this class), the second-best elusiveness rating and solid receiving efficiency on 102 targets. Neal is a long shot for fantasy relevance, but the Saints' backup situation seems wide open behind 30-year-old Alvin Kamara. If Neal can overtake Kendre Miller for the No. 2 job, he'll have some sneaky insurance appeal.