One major complaint that has been echoed all offseason and preseason about the New Orleans Saints is that they haven’t done much to address the running back position. Mark Ingram strutted into the third preseason game to remind people that he’s here and very much capable of being a second option at running back in the NFL.
His two touchdown runs were the most of any individual Saints player in the entirety of the three-game preseason. 2021 was a career-low for Ingram in terms of efficiency (his mark of 3.5 yards per carry was well beneath his usual standards), but he also had to play behind some of the worst-performing offensive lines in his entire career with New Orleans and Houston. Now, getting back into the groove of the Saints offense he’s looking ready to be a contributor.
As it now looks like his running mate Alvin Kamara will not be suspended until at least the 2023 season, it pushes signing another running back further down the priority list. Many of the prominent free agents available are signing with other teams — the Houston Texans nabbed Marlon Mack, the Los Angeles Chargers landed Sony Michel, and the Baltimore Ravens brought in Kenyan Drake. The current running back depth on New Orleans’ roster (Kamara, Ingram, and Tony Jones Jr., following the surprise release of Dwayne Washington) is likely plenty to suffice for this season. Ingram is aging, so it will likely rise back up to a top need after this season.
