Getty New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram
The Week 13 NFL action kicks off with an intriguing Thursday night game between the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys. While the Saints look like one of the NFL’s best teams, the Cowboys are trending in the right direction in a big way as of late. There are plenty of talented players on both sides of the ball in this game, leading to the potential for this to be a great primetime matchup.
Along with the multiple talented players, the game also comes with some tough fantasy football decisions. While you’re certainly starting names like Ezekiel Elliott, Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara, one interesting situation involves Saints running back Mark Ingram.
There’s a good chance that you have a few other running backs rostered if you drafted Ingram, considering he had an early-season suspension. And against a solid Cowboys run defense, the decision on whether to start or sit the Saints running back is a tough call.
We’re going to break down the situation and look at whether to roll with Ingram in your starting lineup or leave him on the sidelines Thursday night.
Should You Start or Sit Mark Ingram?
As a player who has Ingram on a few fantasy rosters, I can safely say that the headache of figuring out whether to use him isn’t one I’m interested in for the 2019 season and beyond. the Kamara situation has made this brutally tough, especially since the Saints have multiple other offensive weapons. The good news is that Ingram receives plenty of work, as he’s logged at least 13 touches in six of seven games this season and hit double-digits in all seven.
He’s also been out-snapped by Kamara in every game with the exception of Week 4 (per Football Outsiders), which was Ingram’s first game back. The last two games it’s been pretty tough for fantasy owners, as Ingram was out-snapped 44-30 in Week 11 and 37-27 in an easy Week 12 win.
This is a really tough call and on paper, it seems like Thursday’s matchup could be a “Kamara game,” as Dallas has been solid in run defense. They’ve allowed just 93.6 rushing yards per game this season, good for a tie at No. 4 best in the NFL. With that said, the Cowboys have given up 66 receptions for 501 yards to opposing running backs, pointing to Kamara potentially seeing a fair number of targets.
If Ingram is your best RB2 or flex option in 12-team leagues or larger, I can’t fault you for using him based purely on the consistent workload. In a perfect world, if there’s an option on a fantasy roster who has a similar floor and higher upside, I’d much prefer to go that route, especially in 10 and 12-team leagues.
Ingram does remain in play for 14-teamers and above, due to the fact that the other options are almost certainly far worse. But the Saints running back could wind up as a touchdown-dependant play in Week 13 against the Cowboys.
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