{"id":163268,"date":"2025-06-27T18:48:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T18:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/163268\/"},"modified":"2025-06-27T18:48:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T18:48:15","slug":"how-saints-rb-devin-neal-was-a-steal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/163268\/","title":{"rendered":"How Saints RB Devin Neal was a steal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The running back class of the 2025 NFL Draft<\/a> was absolutely stacked, with some calling it the deepest the draft has ever seen<\/a>. As a result, the New Orleans Saints<\/a> managed to select Devin Neal from Kansas in the sixth round, a move that could be considered a highway robbery.<\/p>\n

How Devin Neal was a steal<\/p>\n

Neal would spend all four years at Kansas, becoming the Jayhawk\u2019s all-time leading rusher with 4,343 yards and rushing touchdown leader with 49. Calling it a dream come true, the running back says he was blessed to be on that team. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unique to be a part of a team for four straight years and grow with the guys and coaches; so many relationships in that locker room,\u201d Neal said after breaking the all-time rushing record<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s just awesome, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold says that Neal has been hardworking and humble throughout the whole process, calling him a special player. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done so much for us on and off the field; he\u2019s done so much for us this season. He\u2019s run physical and has been a very good receiver out of the backfield.\u201d Leipold said<\/a> after Neal broke the school\u2019s all-time rushing record.<\/p>\n

Why Devin Neal can become a big part of the offense<\/p>\n

Alvin Kamara is still the Saints\u2019 #1 running back heading into the 2025 season. However, there is a significant uncertainty regarding the overall depth of that position group. Third year running back Kendre Miller should be the default choice there, but his history of injuries has led him to be a potential surprise cut in August. Other RBs in the room include Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Marcus Yarns, and Cam Akers.<\/p>\n

With the RB2 spot practically wide open, Neal has the opportunity to see action with the top offense. He could very well surpass expectations for success in 2025 if he takes advantage of this chance and proves his abilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The running back class of the 2025 NFL Draft was absolutely stacked, with some calling it the deepest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[2329,398,400,2605,7,29,1123,2606,896,55,401,2588,2572,2571,6,720,397,12467,399,3227],"class_list":{"0":"post-163268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-saints","8":"tag-a","9":"tag-canal","10":"tag-chronicles","11":"tag-devin","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-front-page","14":"tag-how","15":"tag-neal","16":"tag-new-orleans","17":"tag-new-orleans-saints","18":"tag-new-orleans-saints-news","19":"tag-new-orleans-saints-roster","20":"tag-neworleans","21":"tag-neworleanssaints","22":"tag-nfl","23":"tag-rb","24":"tag-saints","25":"tag-steal","26":"tag-street","27":"tag-was"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114756826478647050","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}