Fantasy Football: New Orleans Saints Ruin Top Of Running Back Chart
By Dan Salem
With one move the New Orleans Saints ruined the top of Fantasy Football running back charts. Adrian Peterson and Mark Ingram can’t both be great, and neither will.
Its a real shame what New Orleans has done to the fantasy football running back position. I’d like to believe we can still count on Drew Brees as a top fantasy option at quarterback, but his running backs are all second or third tier options right now.
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Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson can not be trusted. Do the Saints even have a No. 1 running back at this point? How do you draft either player in fantasy football? Shame on New Orleans. Shame.
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, discuss the Fantasy Football in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
The top of the running back fantasy football chart is under siege. The enemy is change! Gone are stalwarts and consensus elite players at numbers enough for the entire league. The fault is at the feet of the teams. They are splitting and sharing running back workloads more than ever before. The latest upset to the apple cart is taking place in New Orleans where the signing of Adrian Peterson ruined perhaps two chances at bonafide No. 1 backs and left us with zero.
Adrian Peterson finally found a new home. It doesn’t seem to be a comforting one, though — at least for his fantasy football value. Peterson joined the New Orleans Saints on a two-year deal worth $7 million, with just half of it guaranteed. It is a paltry deal compared to what Peterson had been making and, perhaps, what he was expecting to make. However, it also seemed logical in this market and in this league. Coming off a horrid year with little to no execution and major injuries, no one was going to pay Peterson like a future Hall of Fame player.
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The fact that he joins the Saints is confusing, though. New Orleans already has a three-down, starting running back in Mark Ingram. It already has a prolific offense. It also has lots of holes on defense, where that $3.5 million could have been better spent. For real-life purposes, this one confuses me. From a fantasy perspective, it doesn’t make much sense either. This is a huge blow for both Ingram’s and Peterson’s value.
Dan Salem:
Too many teams are splitting the running back load between multiple players. The New York Giants were perhaps the worst at this last season, nullifying the fantasy value of any of its backs on a weekly basis. Now New Orleans has joined the pity party by signing Adrian Peterson. On another team I’d believe he maybe puts up decent stats, assuming he stays healthy. But as a Saint, he’s more of an insurance policy for New Orleans and a flier for fantasy football.
The irony is that many owners will draft Peterson early, remembering his glory days and how he last returned from injury so successfully. Perhaps the Saints know Ingram needs some help and fewer carries to remain effective. Yet no matter how it plays out on the field, the fantasy value of both players can not be trusted.
Todd Salem:
One would assume Ingram remains the starter. He didn’t do anything to warrant losing the spot, and Peterson isn’t a sure enough thing to push him out. Instead, the addition just adds confusion to the depth chart. Furthermore, AP is not a third-down back. He is not an asset in the passing game or in pass protection, so there is no complement here to Ingram. They simply don’t fit together.
Who would you rather have for the 2017 fantasy season? There is part of me that wants to say Peterson. Why would the Saints bring him in to sit him on the bench? It is at least plausible that Ingram becomes some sort of third-down back; he is better suited for it than Peterson. Coach Sean Payton has been known to bench Ingram on multiple occasions in the past; maybe he never really trusted him or wanted to give him full reps. This is his chance to upgrade, in his mind. Are you buying it?
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Neither guy is a number one running back for fantasy teams. I’d be hesitant to want either as an RB2 either. They both now strike me as RB3 (depending on league settings of course) or FLEX with little in the way of upside unless the other gets hurt. Perhaps that is the answer. Ingram is still the way to go because Peterson is more likely to get hurt. At this point I won’t be targeting either one.