Fantasy Contrarian: Why You Shouldn’t Hate Mark Ingram
Mark Ingram has become a magnet for disappointment for some fantasy owners. No matter what he does, it never seems to be enough. Either he’s not producing with the carries he gets or he’s back on the injured list. There’s no doubt that at one point he had earned and deserved this reputation, but not anymore. Let me tell you why.
Instead of just telling you a story and telling you to like him, I’m going to let the numbers do the talking for me. Early on, Ingram’s numbers weren’t great, that’s true, but we don’t get credit for what he did or didn’t do in the past, we get credit for what’s going to happen this season. With that said, I’d like to point out that he’s average at least 13.8 carries per game each of the last two seasons and has been well over 4.0 yards per carry for 3 straight years. He’s getting the ball and he’s getting yards, you can’t argue against that. He’s also scored 15 touchdowns the last two years while doubling his yards per game. This isn’t the Mark Ingram from 2012, this is the grown Mark Ingram who’s getting better every year.
There are certainly still some injury concerns, but anyone who carries the ball in the NFL has injury concerns. It’s part of the job. At this point, the Saints offense isn’t the high powered aerial attack that it used to be. Drew Brees is aging and the receiving corps isn’t exactly elite. That means you should look for the established Ingram to take on an even bigger role in the offense. The Saints are going to need him to pick up some of the slack in order to move the ball down the field and put points on the board. At this point in his career, Mark Ingram has proven that he can do that. Put him on your board.
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