Pierre Thomas is the top fantasy football option for the Saints at RB, but both Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson are solid start options in FF leagues and if they are free agents, owners would be wise to pick them up for Week 2 and it comes after Brandin Cooks broke out and Kenny Stills was a bust pick last week for Drew Brees, as he was inactive at the wide receiver position.
Thomas is considered to be the starting back, but all three players could hold value for the Saints and fantasy owners at the running back position this year. Thomas had a solid game rushing and catching the ball in the loss to the Falcons and both Ingram and Robinson had their moments as well. Robinson did not get as many touches, but as the season wears on he could be a solid option in deeper leagues, especially if either Ingram or Thomas gets injured at any point.
Thomas had seven rushes in the game on Sunday for 31 yards and he also ended up with six catches for 58 yards from the backfield. Thomas is very valuable in PPR leagues and he will be taking over some of the duties and production from Darren Sproles, who was a pass catching machine while with New Orleans. Sproles was moved this offseason and that means Ingram should also get a boost when it comes to production from the backfield. Thomas has good hands and is a strong rusher and he should be an option in the red zone as well, which is big for fantasy leagues where TDs are worth lots of points.
Thomas had 77 catches last season for 513 yards and he ended up with over 1000 total yards last year and should be in line with that this season. Thomas is a strong flex option in PPR leagues and a solid RB2 in many other types of leagues. The Saints pass the ball a ton, so PPR leagues offer more value. Ingram had some breakout games last season and he has moved up on the depth chart with Sproles leaving and he could be valuable the rest of this season.
Ingram had 13 carries for 60 yards and those touches led the backs from the backfield and he also added a reception in the game. Last season he only had seven catches, so that is not really his forte, but he ended up with 386 yards last season in 11 games and he could be much better this season. Ingram had 4.6 yards per carry and he averaged nearly five yards per carry last season and keeping that up will get him more chances on offense.
Last season Robinson had just 224 yards rushing, but this season he could be in the mix more with Sproles gone. The wideouts could be big sleepers with Brandin Cooks and Kenny Stills, but for now Stills is a bust after being inactive Week 1. Cooks had a strong game with seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown and also 18 rushing yards, while Stills had a quad issue and could be out again going forward.
