A Running Back to Target in Each Round of Your Fantasy Football Draft

Round 3: Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints

ADP: 26th overall (3.01)

Mark Ingram missed the final four games of 2015 with a shoulder injury, but he was an outstanding fantasy producer prior to going on the shelf.

Among backs with at least 150 attempts, he ranked second in Rushing NEP per carry. He finished as RB15 in standard formats, and every back ahead of him -- with the exception of Danny Woodhead and David Johnson -- saw more carries.

In points per reception (PPR) formats, Ingram was even better, hauling in 50 of 60 targets on his way to an eighth-place finish.

What makes Ingram so attractive is his stellar week-to-week consistency. Sticking with PPR scoring, Ingram was an RB1 (top-12 back) in nine of the 12 weeks he played last season.

I’d be lying if I didn’t mention how our metrics weren’t a big fan of Ingram a year ago in terms of Success Rate. Among the 44 backs to see at least 100 carries, he ranked 27th in Rushing Success Rate. The same goes for receiving, as he ranked 21st in Reception Success Rate among the 33 backs with at least 40 targets.

In fantasy, though, volume can absolutely trump some per-play inefficiency, and since the Saints haven’t made any significant moves -- they did draft running back Daniel Lasco in the seventh round -- Ingram should again be in line for a whole bunch of touches.

Like Lacy, Ingram is a nice value right now. Ranked as our 15th overall player, he should be closer to a first-round pick than a third-round selection, which is where he’s currently going.