Kendre Miller

3rd-round pick from 2023 — has played 20 games in 3 seasons. Availability is the entire story.

Drafted in the 3rd round (71st overall) out of TCU in 2023, Miller has now missed 31 of 51 possible regular-season games across three seasons. The pattern is consistent: a hamstring or ankle issue surfaces early, the role gets handed to someone else, and Miller never strings together more than a handful of starts.

The career line — 20 games, 127 carries, 497 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs — looks like a Year 1 sample for a healthy back, not a Year 3 total.

Why it matters. Availability determines fantasy and real value for RBs. Miller's 41%–35%–41% active-game rate across three seasons is a consistent red flag, not a one-time injury story. Until he strings together 10+ games, any production is a floor sample.

Highest single-season rushing-yardage total came in just 7 games: 193 yards in 2025.

His 2025 partial-season 193 yards on 47 carries (4.11 YPC) is the best yardage total he's posted — and it came in just 7 games. The YPC has slowly climbed (3.80 → 3.79 → 4.11) as he's stayed healthy enough to find rhythm.

The rushing TD line is exactly 1 in each season — a remarkable consistency given the volatility around it.

Why it matters. The YPC uptick (3.80 → 4.11) suggests Miller is becoming a more efficient runner even if his snap counts stay limited by injury. One healthy season at his 2025 per-game rate (27.6 rush yds/game) would project to ~470 yards — his entire career output in a single year.

Career-best game: 2023 Week 18 at Atlanta — 13 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD.

The Week 18 line vs Atlanta as a rookie remains his only 70+ yard game. Week 4 of 2025 vs Buffalo was the closest he came to a real second look: 11-65-1, the kind of game that earns you another touch — except injuries kept him out of the lineup again afterward.

Why it matters. The ceiling data is sparse but real: in his two best games (ATL, BUF), Miller averaged 12 carries for 69 yards and a TD. The question is whether he can ever get 12+ carries in back-to-back games. He never has.

127 career rushes, 24 career targets — almost entirely a runner.

At 6-0, 220 lbs, Miller was drafted as a downhill bell-cow type, and the touches reflect that: 84.1% of his career touches are rushes. He has just 20 career receptions on 24 targets (83.3% catch rate) — solid for a check-down back but not a primary receiving role.

The 9.0 yards per reception is high (small sample), suggesting screen and outlet work that the Saints could lean into if they ever fully trust him on the field.

Why it matters. For a team in rebuild mode, Miller's limited receiving role (16% of touches) caps his PPR fantasy ceiling and limits his value in passing situations. If the Saints want to maximize Miller, deploying him in the screen game is the clearest untapped lever.

497 career rush yards across 3 seasons — what a healthy starter posts in 5 weeks.

For perspective: most 3rd-round backs are expected to clear 600 rushing yards in Year 1 alone. Miller has 497 rushing yards total across 3 seasons and just 20 games played.

At his 2025 per-game pace of 27.6 rush yards/game, a healthy 17-game season would project to ~469 yards — a total he hasn't reached in three full years combined. The path forward is narrow: New Orleans's RB room is in flux, and Miller's 4.11 YPC in 2025 is the first real signal that the tools are there if the body cooperates. With only 20 career games on his odometer, he's also one of the youngest 4th-year backs in football in terms of NFL mileage — which can cut both ways heading into a contract year.

Why it matters. Context anchors what 497 yards actually means: it's not a small career, it's almost no career at all. Any projection for Miller depends entirely on whether he can stay healthy, because his per-game efficiency (3.91 YPC, 24.9 rush yds/game overall) is serviceable.