Is Nyheim Hines’ Week 1 performance replicable for the Indianapolis Colts?
Last Sunday was not a good time for the Indianapolis Colts. They not only lost an embarrassing game on the road to the AFC South rival Jacksonville Jaguars, but they lost starting running back Marlon Mack for the season. Mack tore his Achilles’ tendon and has been place on season-ending IR. What does this mean for his backups Nyheim Hines and Jonathan Taylor going forward?
The Fantasy Footballers respect the fine job Hines did essentially filling in for Mack once he succumbed to his season-ending injury. Hines had seven carries for 28 yards and a touchdown, as well as eight receptions for 45 yards and an additional trip to pay dirt. This netted him on average 19.3 fantasy points, making him one of the best available free agents heading into Week 2.
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The Colts face a must-win game vs. the Minnesota Vikings in their home opener on Sunday afternoon. Minnesota needs to win as well after getting humiliated by the Green Bay Packers in Week 1. Though the Colts can definitely bounce back, they did just lose on the road to arguably the worst team in the NFL. Do the Colts the have horses to run with Dalvin Cook and the Vikings?
Nyheim Hines will get his touches, but it’s the Jonathan Taylor show.
What the guys have essentially implied is Hines will get his touches on the 2020 Colts, but he is going to now backup the rookie out of the University of Wisconsin. Hines has spent his entire three-year NFL career with the Colts out of North Carolina State. Again, he’s a fine player, but he’s not a two-time Doak Walker Award winner like Taylor was coming out of Wisconsin this spring.
So what does this mean for you in fantasy football? With Mack out for the year, it becomes abundantly clear that Taylor is the guy going forward. He will get the bulk of the touches in this Colts offense. If he is as good as we think he is, Taylor may assert himself as a low-end RB1 by the end of the campaign. As for Hines, this might be as good as it gets, but he’s still very valuable.
Because the Colts’ running back room has gone from three men to two, his workload increases ever slightly over what it probably was going to be before Mack got hurt. He’s now No. 2, but he’s poised to spend the bulk of the season serving as the more talented Taylor’s change of pace guy. However, if he can catch passes out of the backfield like he did in Week 1, he’s worth picking up.