If there's one NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons fans are most worried about entering 2026, most people would probably say the New Orleans Saints. The Saints have been getting all the media hype as a potential worst-to-first story, and nobody wants to see that happen less than people in Atlanta.
The Saints are being looked at as the NFL's new darling young team that's bound to take another leap in 2026. Everyone is gushing over the Kellen Moore and Tyler Shough duo, but I guess everyone forgot what the Falcons did to Shough in a clean sweep against him and the Aints twice last season.
But a sophomore leap from Shough isn't the only reason hype is reaching its pinnacle in New Orleans: it's the run game. The Saints made their fair share of flashy signings this offseason, and perhaps the flashiest was poaching RB Travis Etienne Jr. away from Jacksonville on a four-year, $52 million deal.
Former NFL GM is gushing over the Saints' RB duo with wild comparison
Now that they signed Etienne, he's set to join forces with one of the better RBs of the last couple seasons in Alvin Kamara. And while speaking with Sirius XM's Bill Leakes, former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon compared Etienne and Kamara to a duo Falcons fans won't like.
“You go, and you add Travis Etienne, you bring him in, and now you’re mixing him in the backfield with an Alvin Kamara,” Carthon said. “That is going to be a really good combination for Saints fans. It’s going to take you back a little bit to the Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram days, where you had that two-headed monster in the backfield.”
Carthon said he expects Etienne and Kamara to take the Saints back to the Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram days during the late 2010s, where they had the NFL's best two-headed monster at RB, which is also the same timeline of when they took control of the NFC South away from the Dirty Birds.
Falcons fans hate the Saints plenty, but there was no duo who gave them more nightmares than Kamara and Ingram. This was during their final push to win another Super Bowl with Drew Brees in his final years, and having a bruiser and an elite pass-catching back made this backfield tough to stop.
And knowing how much trouble this duo give Atlanta back then, this isn't exactly the most exciting trip down memory lane. Alvin Kamara is still dangerous in the receiving game and Travis Etienne is one of the league's most explosive backs, so they both will make Shough (and Moore's) life easier.
Having running backs like these will make it tougher for the Falcons to key in on the Saints through the air as well. They still have Chris Olave, Juwan Johnson, and first-round rookie Jordyn Tyson to worry about, and then you have two backs that the young signal-caller can check down to if needed.
Having one stud running back to worry about is tough, but having two is a whole new ballpark, even if neither of these guys are Bijan Robinson-level talents. The Saints are already doing plenty to keep the Falcons up at night going into 2026, which is making the division championship race feel less open.
And Ran Carthon comparing the Saints' current RB tandem to their old one is even more of a reason to be worried about what's cooking down in the Big Easy.
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