Travaris

Cadet

He’ll be Carolina’s No. 3 running back behind Christian McCaffrey and Cameron Artis-Payne. Cadet is a passing-game-type back with special teams value.

Seeing time on returns, in the slot and out of the backfield, Cadet played all four quarters of Friday’s loss to the Jaguars. Cadet has carried the ball 18 times for 51 yards through New Orleans’ first three preseason games, adding 19 catches for 171 yards and two scores. He’s averaged 28.3 yards on four kick returns. At the very least, Cadet is putting heat on the less versatile Chris Ivory.

Undrafted out of Appalachian State, Cadet ran a 4.67 forty at his Pro Day at 6-foot, 205, so he’s about the exact opposite of a workout wonder. He played fast in the Hall of Fame Game, though, and exhibited tackle-breaking ability in addition to some shake and bake in the Darren Sproles “satellite back” role with New Orleans’ second-team offense. Cadet, who can also return kickoffs, could end up making Chris Ivory expendable if he keeps this up all August.

Both undrafted rookie Travaris Cadet and Chris Ivory survived the cut as backups to Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram and Darren Sproles. Simply put, Cadet was too impressive to let go at 6'1/210 with extremely impressive receiving skills. In five preseason games, he caught 30 passes for 246 yards with two touchdowns. Cadet will be a name to monitor if Sproles gets hurt this season. Ivory may be on the trade block.

In addition to putting the ball on the ground too often, Ivory has also struggled with pre-snap mental lapses. OC Pete Carmichael calls the fumbling problem “not acceptable,” and Ivory has managed just 30 yards on a team-high 17 preseason carries (1.8 YPC). Contrary to pre-camp speculation, Ivory is not a serious threat to Mark Ingram’s role as the primary back between the tackles, in clock-killing mode and in short-yardage. With rookie Travaris Cadet impressing, Ivory should be available for trade.

“Right now, pretty much,” Cadet said. “But we may have a little change here and there depending on how the game is going. I’ll leave that up to Coach.” Cadet is listed as Sproles’ direct backup on both kickoff and punt returns. He also operated in Sproles’ exact role with the second-team offense in preseason games. Return-yardage and deep leaguers should add Cadet immediately.

Cadet is no better than fourth on the running back depth chart, so the Saints are looking for creative ways to get him involved on offense. An estimated 80-percent of his practice reps this week were at receiver. With early-season injuries to Marques Colston (questionable, foot) and Devery Henderson (probable, concussion), Cadet could expand his role as a third-team wideout.

Thomas played on 21-of-56 snaps. Mark Ingram was next with 18, Chris Ivory was at 13 and Travaris Cadet played six. It’s a committee in it’s truest form, but Thomas still has the most fantasy appeal here. He’s averaging an impressive 4.7 yards per carry and 10.1 yards per catch this season. Thomas is also the only back of the four that is an asset in both the running and screen game.

Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles shared first-team reps. Mark Ingram handled second-team work, and Cadet was the third-team tailback. Instead of shuttling between receiver and tailback as he did under Pete Carmichael last year, Cadet is working as a full-time running back. He’s a deep sleeper in PPR leagues.

Cadet is competing with undrafted rookie Khiry Robinson for the No. 4 running back job. After a strong rookie preseason, Cadet has struggled mightily through two exhibition games this year. He’s rushed for just 35 yards on 18 carries and has fumbled twice. Robinson has 102 yards on the ground. Cadet has a versatile skill set, but he’s off the re-draft fantasy radar.