Mark Ingram established himself last season as the every down running back for the New Orleans Saints. Typically, the Saints like to have a rotation of running backs share the work, but Ingram got the bulk of the rushing attempts throughout the season. The Saints brought in C.J. Spiller to be their pass catcher out of the backfield this season after letting Pierre Thomas go, but Spiller is currently hurt so Ingram has reportedly been more involved in the passing game in practice, according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.
Spiller is expected to be back for week one, so it is unknown how involved Ingram will be in the passing game when the season starts, but it appears he has improved on that part of his game in camp and has even been featured multiple times a day on passing plays. Ingram has never been much of a pass catcher, but he is in an offense that loves to pass the ball and Drew Brees particularly loves passes to the running back.
Last season, Ingram caught 29 passes for 145 yards. In the three seasons before last year, Ingram had a total of 24 catches and 143 yards, so he had been trending upwards in the pass catching department even before this offseason.
Ingram is coming off his best season in 2014 when he ran for 964 yards in 13 games and finished third in the league with nine rushing touchdowns. Ingram was also named to his first Pro Bowl a year ago, and he proved to the Saints that he is capable of handling the load of being an every down back.
The 25-year-old New Jersey Native was the Saints first round pick back in the 2011 draft out of Alabama and took a little while to get his footing in the NFL. If Ingram can stay on the field he should be in for a huge year in 2015, as he should get the vast majority of the carries. The fact that he might be even more involved in the passing game is just icing on the cake and another step to Ingram becoming one of the top all-around running backs in the league.