Robert Turbin has been suspended four-games for PEDs, removing one of many mouths to feed in this Colts’ backfield. Marlon Mack’s stranglehold on early-down work, and his chance to distance himself from the pack, seems far stronger now; however, the backfield is expected to remain a committee under Frank Reich.
Though Mack is incredibly explosive (led the league in 20+ yard runs as a rookie) and has an even clearer path to touches now, he also struggled heavily in pass-protection and inside running. Considering Frank Reich‘s lengthy history with RBBCs, Mack’s “Usage” uptick is unlikely to be enormous. In fact, when discussing his backfield, RBs coach Tom Rathman noted, “We’re going to play a lot of running backs. You’re not going to have a bell cow, so to speak, a guy that’s going to carry the load. We’ve got a lot of different styles and I think anytime you have a lot of different styles, you want to try to utilize that.” Thus, Mack might now offer more fantasy appeal, especially consider Turbin seemed locked-in for goalline work. Still, rookies Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins will be worked in heavily, making Mack an avoid for me, especially with Tarik Cohen and Julian Edelman carrying similar price tags.
Follow the links for more on Frank Reich and the entire Colts attack, as well as all of 2018’s New Coaches and Offenses.
