Nyheim Hines may be listed as the No. 2 running back on the Indianapolis Colts depth chart, but Sunday’s Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars confirmed he will have a much bigger role than that.
As expected, the arrival of Philip Rivers gave the backfield a massive boost in target share on Sunday. The running backs for the Colts saw a 36.9% target share in the Week 1 loss on Sunday with Hines leading the way at 17% in the backfield.
After catching eight passes for 45 yards and a touchdown while also adding seven carries for 28 rushing yards and a touchdown, it’s time to add Hines to your fantasy football roster.
This may be the final time to do so. All offseason we have talked about what the arrival of Rivers will mean for the backfield and specifically Hines as the pass-catching specialist. Though he may not repeat Austin Ekeler’s ridiculous numbers from 2019, Hines will hold a very similar role in the backfield.
With Marlon Mack now out with an Achilles injury (potentially for the entire season), Hines should see an even larger workload. He led the backfield playing 53% of the snaps on Sunday, which is remarkable considering the Colts were in a neutral game script the entire time.
This shows us that Hines isn’t simply a change of pace back who will be on the field to spell a bellcow. He’s a huge part of the offense and given the love Rivers has for throwing to running backs, his role isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Should Mack miss a significant amount of time, the rookie star in Jonathan Taylor will also take on a bigger role. He even saw six targets on Sunday. But Hines has proven he’s a mainstay in the offense. When Mack was healthy and playing on Sunday, Taylor was the one who saw a reduced role, not Hines.
For those in PPR formats, Hines should be a top priority on the waiver wire. He’s available in 65.6% of ESPN leagues as of Monday morning.
