Thomas has a lingering injury but could be back soon, as could Reggie Bush (remember him?). Then there’s preseason sensation, Chris Ivory. Betts and Jones have been added to mix as well. What’s going to happen when all these guys are healthy? We asked this week’s 7 Featured Pros for some advice.
Out of the Saints RBs – Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory, Reggie Bush, Ladell Betts, and Julius Jones – who should we be targeting or stashing for the remainder of the year?
Pierre Thomas is still the most explosive back in New Orleans from a fantasy perspective, but Ivory’s emergence last week and the likelihood that he fills the short-yardage/bruiser role carved out for Lynell Hamilton, who is on IR with a torn ACL, does take the edge off of Thomas’s upside for the rest of the season. Jones and Betts should be looking for work once Thomas and Bush are healthy.
Pat Fitzmaurice – Pro Football Weekly
Chris Ivory’s window of studliness probably closes after this week. Reggie Bush is expected back in Week Eight, and Pierre Thomas will be back eventually. Sean Payton is firmly dedicated to the committee approach. Ivory is a good play this week, but from Week Eight on, you probably won’t feel great about starting any New Orleans running back. Bush will play his usual role. Thomas probably won’t be around next season because the Saints aren’t willing to pay him much, so they don’t want to become overly reliant on him this year. I don’t think any of them will have particularly great fantasy value, but as of Week Eight, I’d put Ivory and Bush in a virtual tie for first in the pecking order, followed by Thomas, with Betts and Jones becoming nonfactors.
Sean Haugh – Fantasy Football Maniaxs
Ladell Betts and Julius Jones are only in New Orleans in case of emergency. Chris Ivory’s big day against the Buccaneers was no mirage. This rookie is for real, a great start for this week against Cleveland and an even better stash in dynasty leagues. You always want to have talented RBs on your roster no matter where they are on the depth chart. Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush should have their usual roles back by Week Nine, but you never know when you’ll be glad you kept Ivory until it happens again.
When all NO backs are healthy, the one you want is Illinois alum Pierre Thomas. Not only does he have the talent to be like his former teammate Rashard Mendenhall but, when healthy, he’ll get the carries to put up Mendenhall fantasy points as well. Next goes Bush, Ivory, Betts. (Although Bush’s stock drops if your league doesn’t count kick returns for TDs). However, you can get Thomas for dirt cheap now and I recommend giving up dirt to get him.
If you look at the picture in New Orleans, it isn’t really different than it has been in the past. Bush is hurt a lot along with Thomas and the Saints always bring in at least two choices to replace them. Not much different. So you can look at history for this one – they all will suffer big time and you’ll never be able to count on them during any given week (much like their WRs as well….). The best bet looks to be Chris Ivory since Pierre Thomas has no status we can rely on and they are the only true ‘featured backs’ here. Ladell Betts is clearly the backup to the backup and Reggie Bush will never again be a normal RB. I think you can expect Bush to be back soon and to be usable, yet inconsistent. So keep Ivory as the player with the most upside and use him as a matchup/bye week play. Reggie Bush can be used the same way when he finally gets back to the lineup. I wouldn’t waste roster spots on Pierre Thomas or Ladell Betts if your space is limited. Before dropping them, maybe you could trade someone. Might as well give that a go first.
In the short term, prior to the Saints bye in Week 10, I expect Chris Ivory to get the bulk of the Saints’ carries and be fairly productive, especially this week against Cleveland. Following their bye, I expect both Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush to become fully involved in the Saints offense again. However, I still think Ivory will get some touches as the Saints revert back to the three-headed backfield they imploded in 2009. I predict Pierre Thomas will get 12-15 touches, Reggie Bush will get 8-10 touches, and Chris Ivory filling the Mike Bell role will get about 10-12 touches. In the end you will never know on a weekly basis which guy will score and be the most productive. I’d avoid the situation, if possible, as all 3 will only have value as flex plays. I don’t expect Ladell Betts or Julius Jones to hold any value going forward.
Phil Dussault – Ultimate FF Strategy
The most important aspect of the Saints offense is the short passing game and they’ve lost it with the injuries to Thomas and Bush. Ivory played very well last week but didn’t look particularly good in his previous games and he’s still a one-dimensional running back. Betts’s poor performance in week 5 has cost him any chance of staying involved in this offense and Julius Jones isn’t any better than he was with the Seahawks.
If Chris Ivory keeps playing like he did last week, Sean Payton will have to keep him involved in the offense but he won’t get much more than 5 to 7 carries per game. Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush’s pass catching abilities are the bread and butter of this offense. They’ll remain on top of the depth chart when they return and Pierre Thomas will still be a top 15 RB.
I want to thank our Featured Pros for sharing their fantasy advice with us! If you liked what you read, click on their names in this post to see their profiles, accuracy scores, recent articles and tweets (when available). You can also visit their websites and blogs by clicking on the site names in this post or in their FantasyPros expert profiles.
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