Mark Ingram joined BMitch & Finlay on Super Bowl Media Row Wednesday, and as a former Heisman-winning running back, he can empathize with the struggles Washington had in their run game this year – so, perhaps, with as many needs as the Commanders have this offseason, it’s good that Ingram sees this year’s running back draft class as VERY deep.
“I think it's really good, man. You talk about leading it with Ashton Jeanty, but you’ve got Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, numerous other guys – the kid at Rutgers (Kyle Monangai), Cam Skattebo…I’m watching college football and I'm like, this is a good back!” Ingram said. “Skattebo is a dog, he’s a beast man, but I love this class, and I love to see these guys just holding the standard high for the running back. They're keeping respect on the running back position, and that's what we need: guys who do it the right way, play it the right way, have the right attitude about it, and who are tone setters for team. This class has a lot of good guys, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they do in the league.”
Ingram thinks the running game sets the tone because if the defense can’t stop the run early, it deflates them, and your defense gets to stay fresh – plus, of course, it opens up the passing game.
And, as we saw this past season, a lot of veterans on second or even third deals (starting with Saquon, but going deep) put the running back position back on the NFL map.
“It’s always been about running backs. They try to devalue the position, but in order to be successful, unless you have a generational talent at quarterback like Mahomes, you need someone that's gonna run the football, come out the backfield, catch it, pick up pass protection…it is a tone setter for a team,” Ingram said. “You see the impact Saquon, Henry, Jacobs, Gibbs have – the running back position is of high value and of high importance, and football people know that when you have a game-breaker, a playmaker at that running back position, it opens up everything for an entire offense, and the defense loves it because they stay on the bench and stay fresh.”
And one of those can only help a team Ingram truly believed could’ve been in New Orleans this week.
“When I saw how Jayden Daniels was playing and they were playing complimentary football, I was like, oh, this is a dangerous football team,” Ingram said. “To go up to Detroit, you have to beat that team in their house, they caused turnovers and took care of the football, they made big plays.
I had them winning outright in the NFC Championship, but when you face a good team and you make mistakes and shoot yourself in the foot, it’s hard to win. But I think the future is bright for them with Jayden on his rookie deal and a lot of players out there supporting him; maybe another piece on offense will make the team stronger, but I think they're in a good position right now.”