I'll stop short of saying he's in the best shape of his life, but according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune on Saturday, Mark Ingram looks great. Here, let Ingram tell you. "I'm about 215 right now, the same thing I was [around the time of the draft]," he said. "But it looks better. I'm leaner, a lot more muscle, a lot more cut. And I feel more explosive. "It's just a situation where I just wanted to be in the best shape possible, be the most explosive player I can be." Ingram also talked about the car accident he had with an 18-wheeler just one day prior. Fortunately, Ingram came away unscathed. "I'm here training," he said. "I'm fine. Not a scratch on me. Not an ache. Nothing. Everybody walked away perfectly fine." Also, Ingram said that the knee injury that forced him to miss the first two games of his final season at Alabama hasn't bothered him at all this summer. "[The knee] is stronger than it even was before I got hurt," he said. "I feel better, and I'm really excited, because I did have to manage the pain and things throughout my junior year. And now it's 100 percent, it's strong, and it's ready to go."

Fantasy Analysis:

Ingram is the top rookie on many fantasy draft boards, and I've got no problem with that. He may be the starting running back in a very explosive and deep offense. My biggest worry with him -- and with all 2011 rookies -- has to do with the lockout. With no coaches to teach them, how much of a disadvantage will they be at for this season, and how much will it affect their play? Ingram and other running backs may not have it quite as tough as the newbie quarterbacks, for example, because they can rely a lot on instinct. But the modified time to learn their system from the coaches and simply get used to the NFL game makes me hesitant to draft any rookie.