EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Ahead of the Vikings' season opener against the Saints in September, Minnesota’s game plan wasn’t centered on stopping running back Alvin Kamara. The rookie wasn’t dominating the conversation among Minnesota defenders, who had their focus on what Adrian Peterson could do in his first game in a non-Vikings uniform and how they’d slow down the likes of Michael Thomas, Mark Ingram and, of course, Drew Brees.
“I think we mentioned him (Kamara),” linebacker Anthony Barr recalled, “but we didn’t really know too much about him other than he was a pretty.