Fantasy Football: Why to Draft Mark Ingram
By Jonah Tuls
Aug 22, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram (22) gets away from New England Patriots linebacker James Morris (49) at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
As of right now in standard ESPN leagues, Mark Ingram is rated as the 24th best overall player on draft boards. To many, that may seem a bit high considering the fact that CJ Spiller is there and could affect his workload down the stretch in games as well as on third downs. While that point may be true, remember what kind of situation the New Orleans Saints are in. CJ Spiller is already hobbled with an injury and his week one status is up in the air. Is this a sign of things to come for CJ Spiller? I don’t know, but for Mark Ingram owners/fans, this is relatively good for him.
To me, Mark Ingram is a high end RB2 with massive touchdown potential. Let’s face it, Mark Ingram is not going to rush for 1500 yards any time soon, but on that same token, I would be utterly shocked if he doesn’t attain double digit touchdowns in 2015. As Jimmy Graham was getting faded out of the offense last year, those goal line touches went strictly to Mark Ingram. Now with Graham completely out of the picture, this screams fantasy football gold for anybody looking to draft Mark Ingram.
Now, don’t draft him in the first round as that would be a reach, but I would definitely consider him in the latter part of the second round. In my opinion, he is that last running back of that second tier before the drop-off in production so I would definitely take him in the late second/early third round if possible. Remember, expect a ton of touchdowns, but temper your expectations for yards a bit. Happy drafting!