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Saints running back Mark Ingram is coming off the first 16-game season of his career and recorded his highest average yards per carry while running for more than 1,000 yards for the first time in the NFL.

His chances of turning in a second season with that many yards are likely linked to how much the Saints’ splashiest offseason addition has left in the tank. Adrian Peterson is now in New Orleans and Ingram’s workload could take a hit if the former Viking is healthy and productive once September rolls around.

Ingram echoed Peterson’s comments this week about competition making both men better and noted that competition is nothing new during a run with the Saints that has seen him share time with plenty of other running backs.

“It is what it is,” Ingram said, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “… I don’t really feel one way or another about it. I just play the hand that’s dealt to me. I just work my butt off and that’s about it.”

Coach Sean Payton called the backfield makeup a “good problem to have” and it isn’t one that he believes will create any bad problems for the Saints over the course of the season. As long as the result is victories for the Saints, Payton will likely be proven correct come the fall.