Fantasy Football: Fallout from Andrew Luck retirement

By Drew DeLuca | Aug 26, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - AUGUST 24: Andrew Luck #12 of the Indianapolis Colts walks off the field following reports of his retirement from the NFL after the preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – AUGUST 17: Marlon Mack #25 of the Indianapolis Colts runs the ball during the first half of the preseason game against the Cleveland Browns at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 17, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Running Back

Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines: I wasn’t as high on Mack as some who have him projected as a third-down back. Many of those folks have slid Mack down their boards to the point where I continue to rank him. Mack should still yield a good chunk of third-down work to Hines, who caught over 60 passes on 80+ targets last season.

Initially, I thought I might move Hines down, but I’ve given him a bump in PPR formats after further analysis. He’ll see more dump-offs and third-down work from an offense that likely won’t be as efficient on first and second downs.

Some are writing Hines off completely, claiming that he only produces when Mack missed time. Naturally, there is a correlation, but expect Hines to average 8-10 touches per game in a worst-case scenario. Keep in mind that he has been much more efficient than Mack in the passing game, not only in terms of yards per target, but catch rate, as well:

Marlon Mack missed Games 1, 3, 4, & 5. Didn't start 9 or 14. Nyheim Hines' targets those games: 9, 5, 11, 9, 4, 6. Yet, Hines was also targeted 5+ times in Games 12, 13, 15, & 16. Notable: Hines caught 77.8% of targets, significantly higher than Mack's 65.4%. I'm not fading Hines
— Drew DeLuca (@DrewDeLaware) August 25, 2019

Overall Rankings: Mack: RB24 – Hines: RB39 (PPR only; slide him down in other formats)

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