Fantasy football owners aren't going to believe this, but Saints running back C.J. Spiller is already injured. I know — shocking, but true. Spiller underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 14 and has missed the entire preseason.
Meanwhile, the Saints maintain that Spiller will be ready for Week 1 against the Cardinals and that there's nothing to see here. So, nothing to worry about ... right? Wrong. Here's why we're plenty worried about Spiller's Week 1 stats (and beyond), and why we think there's a better fantasy football value emerging in the Saints backfield.
MORE: 2015 fantasy football rankings | RB sleepers | Fantasy football cheat sheet
C.J. Spiller's injury status
C.J. Spiller, who missed seven games last year for the Bills with a broken collarbone, has been battling injuries his entire five-year career. Although his "games played" log looks pretty good with 70 regular-season contests out of a possible 80 (88 percent), that doesn't tell the full story of Spiller often being limited by various injuries during those games.
That past history of fragility has us nervous about Spiller's long-term fantasy outlook, and very concerned about his status for Week 1. He has the potential to be a fantasy football gem in the Saints' new-look offense playing the old "Darren Sproles role," but Spiller needs to get healthy first. If he misses time, Khiry Robinson could become a major fantasy sleeper, but there's a more obvious Saints running back to love.
MORE: 2015 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
Mark Ingram's fantasy football outlook
While Spiller is missing time, Mark Ingram's fantasy football stock should be rising — but it really hasn't. Ingram, our No. 11-ranked RB for 2015, is still widely available in the third or fourth rounds of fantasy drafts as a "boring" RB2, but he should be going closer to the second round as a "boring" RB1.
Sure, Ingram is not without injury concerns of his own, but he's shaping up to be the bell cow in a Saints offense that will have to lean more heavily on the run without Jimmy Graham helping to move the chains. At the very least, there's big-time TD upside.
Fantasy football draft strategy
If you already drafted Ingram, good for you; you have a potential steal. If you have yet to draft, consider Ingram a value option at a position thin on workhorse backs. If you drafted Spiller, well ... Khiry Robinson is probably available.
Editor's note: The Sporting News Football Championship is coming! Hosted by FanDuel, this exclusive event will feature 10 weeks of qualifiers, culminating in a FREE Week 11 Final with $20,000 in prizes. Sign up now!