The Player

So here we are again. C.J. Spiller is a year older and a year closer to being out of the NFL. But this Saints' depth chart seems set at the wide receiver position, and I don't feel like putting you through the Josh Hill hype machine again. Besides, Mark Ingram has only played 16 games once in his career, and backup Tim Hightower was out of football for three years following a significant knee injury before reemerging last season.

Spiller was always an athletic freak, running a 4.37 at the combine and demonstrating exceptional lateral agility and acceleration in the early part of his career. But other than a magical 2012 season, Spiller has always either underperformed or struggled with injuries.

Still, even entering his seventh NFL season, Spiller has explosiveness that is hard to ignore. If somehow he can pick up the pieces of his once promising career, he is certainly in the right offense to make an impact.

While he clearly has limitations as a between the tackle runner and profiles more as a space and passing down player, the Saints have always found a role for players like him -- other than in 2015, that is.

The Opportunity

Somewhat surprisingly, Spiller finished the 2015 season with 34 receptions. Unfortunately, he was far from explosive in that role, with similar Reception NEP scores to Doug Martin and an aging Darren McFadden.

But lost in all the Mark Ingram hype is that this is a player who is rarely healthy (his only 16-game season was a 600-yard outing in 2012) and, for much of his career, hasn't been particularly effective. And outside of the 2015 season, Ingram has been an afterthought in the passing came, yielding targets to role players such as Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles.

From an efficiency standpoint, Ingram's 2015 season as a receiver (0.22 Reception NEP per reception) can't touch what those two were able to accomplish throughout their Saints' careers. Ingram is a competent receiver, an oft-injured and rarely-explosive runner, and his primary backup was out of the league for three years with a bad knee.

Over the past four seasons, the Saints have averaged nearly 160 targets per year to their running backs, with a high of 184 in 2013. If Spiller can overcome his own slew of injuries and master the playbook, there is clearly an opportunity available for him to have a significant receiving role on this team.

He is clearly the most talented athlete at the position on the roster. Now he just has to play like it.