Getty Images
Mark Ingram came through with an impressive season in 2014 and was a huge support for Drew Brees on the ground. The New Orleans Saints were still a passing offense for the most part, but they saw the running game step up and be a major help to them. That will have to continue in 2015, especially after the losses that the Saints’ offense suffered this past offseason. New Orleans decided to trade both Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills away, and their passing offense is expected to take a major step backwards. Moving both of those players is going to put a lot of stress on Brees’ shoulders as well, and he is going to need as much help as possible. Ingram is one player who is capable of stepping up and being a difference maker, and they are in desperate need of him doing just that. During the 2014 season, Ingram ended up carrying the football 226 times for 964 yards and nine touchdowns. Obviously, those numbers aren’t too dominant, but they show potential that hadn’t been seen in Ingram before. He is without question capable of improving those numbers this season, especially with the improvements that the Saints made on the offensive line. There will be competition for Ingram at the running back position this year in C.J. Spiller, but his signing will only motivate Ingram and push him to be better. Brees simply cannot afford to be the only source of offense for the Saints this season. He has Brandin Cooks, but outside of that he is very short on wide receivers who are capable of making plays for him. If the Saints can get their ground attack going, it will open up the aerial attack and the other receivers who wouldn’t be capable of getting consistent separation otherwise. Ingram’s breakthrough season last year will have to be repeated in 2015 if the Saints want any chance of having a dangerous offense. They need their running back to come through with consistent production each and every week, and Spiller simply isn’t going to be the guy to do that. Assuming he has worked hard this past offseason, there is nothing holding Ingram back from being a legitimate star. He has the combination of strength and speed, and that showed throughout the majority of last season. Being able to play in a dual-back system will take some of the carries away from him, but Ingram is still going to be put in the position to receive more carries than he did last year due to the loss of two of their better receivers. If the Saints are going to turn things around and compete in the NFC South and for a playoff spot, they are going to need Ingram to step up and be a major playmaker. He is capable of being the type of difference maker that New Orleans needs him to be, but he’ll have to prove that he has put in the work to reach that potential. Evan Massey is a featured writer for www.RantSports.com, and contributes across the NFL, MLB, NCAA and NBA portions of the site. Follow him on Twitter at @Massey_Evan and like him on Facebook.
