NFL Draft 2011: Mark Ingram Takes Reggie Bush's Place on New Orleans Roster

It’s interesting when one man's trash is another man’s treasure. It is also interesting when one man’s entrance gives way to another man’s exit. Reggie Bush was apparently tuning in to the NFL Draft, as after Mark Ingram was drafted by the New Orleans Saints, Bush promptly tweeted:

@reggie_bush It’s been fun New Orleans.

There are few ways you could interpret that statement, none of which should put New Orleans fans at ease. One could say that he was simply expressing how talented he felt Ingram was in a joking way. Players in the league take notice of the highly touted college players in today’s draft class, especially the Heisman trophy winners.

Mark Ingram went through a lot to get to that point, including a dropping draft stock because of a knee injury. Reggie Bush may have been showing his new teammate kudos. There is nothing wrong with that, right?

Then again, fans must think about how intrusive Ingram’s presence is to Bush’s career in New Orleans. Reggie is already on the brink of elimination because of how high maintenance his contract is for the Saints. Everyone must remember that he has been in the league for five years now and has refused to even scrap the ceiling of expectations. Yes, Bush was a part of a Superbowl team, but let’s re-visit the circumstances that rest on this past season.

In 2010-11, Bush scored six points. That was not a miscalculation because there was only one number to calculate. Bush struggled to meet expectations, as the Saints demanded more from him due to injuries sustained by Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas.

Even with the spotlight slowly but surely creeping back towards the camera friendly running man, he failed to accumulate the numbers that elite running backs such as Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson and those other freaks of nature have. Reggie Bush is not a talent classified along with those specimen, however, playing at such an undervalued position, he needs to make himself indispensable and he did not do so.

So, we are back at the primary topic at hand. What did Bush mean when he tweeted “It’s been fun New Orleans.” He meant what everyone has been speculating since he rushed for only 12 yards in the postseason game against the mediocre Seattle Seahawks—he is out of there!

Mark Ingram should be looked at as his replacement and will feel the pressure from the Saints fan base to deliver in ways that Reggie Bush was unable to.

As one of the more solid and less questionable prospects in this year’s draft class, Ingram has the body form and technique to barrel through some of the most formidable defensive lineman the league has to offer. Am I saying that he will run over Ray Lewis in his rookie season?

No, because that would be blasphemous. However, I am saying that I expect him to be worthy of the position and a consistent presenter of yardage and occasional offense. Why wouldn’t he be greater than his predecessor? He has the blueprint of what steps not to take.