Cluster Fudge in New Orleans
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

When you see the title of this article you may think it is about the Saint’s WRs and it easily could be. Maybe there will be a part 2. For now we are talking about the Saints nut cluster at the RB position.

Darren Sproles is awesome. Congratulations if you drafted him you are a fantasy football genius. Get your 10 pts+/game and take it to the bank. He is a terrific flex play and a serviceable #2 especially if your fantasy league scores special teams production (which I really believe leagues should). I see no reason for Sproles’ outlook to change in that high powered pass oriented Saints offense. Unfortunately, the trade market for Sproles is probably grim. His production / name value ratio is a little high which typically represents an awkward trade scenario. If you need RB help and there is an owner who thinks they are selling “high” on Sproles but is willing to do a deal you feel is reasonable I would support that.

The nut cluster gets fudgier once we start talking about Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas. Neither is thrilling to own but both have circumstantial value. Neither has cracked 60 yd. rushing this season. Ingram averages 12 touches/game almost all exclusively in the run game. He has 6 receptions for a whopping 17 yards. Thomas on the other hand has more evenly distributed production. He averages 10 touches/game and his rushing and receiving yardage totals are very similar.

Really, both guys are very TD dependent. Ingram is averaging about 7 fantasy points/game and Pierre Thomas just over 6.5/game. I feel as though Thomas has a little more reliable points floor than Ingram because of his yardage production but both are capable of hurting you with 2 point stinkers. I love Ingram’s real football profile. At Alabama I thought his running style looked perfect for the NFL. I still believe he has immense talent I just do not think the Saints are quite ready for the transition to a run oriented offense (kind of the reverse LT-Philip Rivers). That time will come I just do not believe it will be this year.

As for Thomas, I’m actually really liking him. Pierre Thomas is Pierre Thomas…sneaky effective. I do believe as the season wears on and the Saints jockey for playoff seeding that they will lean on their veteran RB. I believe he is solid the rest of the way. Even though Thomas is the established veteran who has been very fantasy relevant before its Ingram who seems to have more name value. If this is true, I like both guys as a decent flex option but feel Thomas probably presents the better value. If you need RB help at the bottom of your roster I would definitely recommend that you start sniffing around Pierre Thomas.