Ingram was an afterthought this draft season after signing with the Texans. He seemed to be the third running back for fantasy purposes — behind David Johnson and Phillip Lindsay — on what is widely considered one of the worst teams in the NFL.
That all quickly changed with his Week 1 workload of 26 carries, which resulted in 85 yards and a touchdown during Houston’s win over Jacksonville. By comparison, Johnson and Lindsay had six and eight touches, respectively. You can’t ignore that kind of volume, even with a 31-year-old running back.
We all went into Sunday wondering how the 49ers backfield touches would be divided between Raheem Mostert and Trey Sermon. That narrative took several twists and turns throughout the day. First, Sermon was a surprise healthy scratch for the game. Then Mostert was forced to leave with a knee injury after only two carries.
From there, rookie Eli Mitchell carried the ground game. The sixth-round pick rushed 19 times for 104 yards and a 38-yard touchdown. It seems Mitchell has the confidence of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan going forward.
The severity of Mostert’s injury is unknown at this point, but it appears that Mitchell is the Plan B — and we like the primary back in a Shanahan offense.
Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles (8% rostered)
Another rookie back making an immediate impact, Gainwell had the role we expected Boston Scott to play for the Eagles. He had 11 touches (nine carries and two receptions) for 43 yards and a touchdown. This is another case of a workload that we should chase for fantasy purposes.