2018 Fantasy Football Rookie Roundup: Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts had one heck of a lost season in 2017. Due to some severe Misfortunes, Jacoby Brissett was forced to shoulder the load for an offense that he wasn’t ready to run. It is a Blessing that Andrew Luck seems to have finally made a full recovery from his injury after a 2017 recovery marred with injuries. It is Kismet that the Colts drafted three fantasy football eligible players, but will you Hit it Big if you draft them?

Nyheim Hines, Running Back, Round Four
There’s little chance that Hines is the lead back who will go banging his way through the tackles. However, he also seems to have the shortest route to consistent fantasy football production. He’s extremely small, at 5’8” and 198 pounds, but his versatility will see him getting a consistent base of production. Hines needs some space, but once he has it he can take nearly any touch to the house. It’s likely he lines up all over the field in a Swiss Army Knife role for the Colts.

Hines has to beat out Marlon Mack and fellow rookie Jordan Wilkins to get a bigger role, but he’s likely to have something carved out through his preseason training camp week one. In PPR leagues, he’s a great sneaky deep flier to rack up fantasy points for you through getting swing passes and dump-offs in the flat. He has home run upside on top of that nice floor and is definitely worth getting onto your rosters in case he wrestles more touches away from the other guys.

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Jordan Wilkins, Running Back, Round Five
The Colts took back-to-back backs in rounds four and five, immediately descending the running back room into chaos. Wilkins is a more traditional running back compared to Hines, and they likely will not compete for touches. Wilkins would handle the “normal” running back duties while Hines takes care of running all over the field doing everything else.

As a player, Wilkins has some good traits. For example, he is big and fast (6’1”, 217 pounds and ran a 4.53 at his Pro Day). He has some serious decisiveness issues, as he has problems with cutting back consistently and dances like crazy behind the line. His running is also extremely inconsistent, as he can slam into the line one play while successfully seeing the problem ahead of him the next play.

Personally, I have trouble getting excited about Wilkins behind the Colts line. He is extremely indecisive and will have problems reading the line collapsing in front of him. People want to argue for his opportunity, but that line of reasoning got us Paul Perkins in 2017.

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Deon Cain, Wide Receiver, Round Six
By pure talent, most had Cain pegged as a fourth-round talent, at worst. The problem comes from a failed drug test in 2015 and the vague bogeyman of off-field concerns. That having been said, he’s no Antonio Callaway in that department. Should Cain get his head on straight, he immediately settles in behind T.Y. Hilton as the new Donte Moncrief.

The only difference? Cain’s 4.43 40-yard dash shows just how quickly he can fly. He also gets just open enough, making up for an inability to get separation by getting free extremely deep in his route. Cain has great body control going for heaved up passes, but his focus and small hands find him dropping too many balls. He has difficulty underneath but he has extreme long ball upside. He’s got a lot of publicity as popping early in Colts training camp… because every speedy receiver who hates to fight for footballs gets that pop before the pads go on.

Ultimately, if Luck is healthy, you want a part of his passing game. Cain is currently the cheapest part of that game that you can get. If you are in a deep league, he’s worth a shot. Go ahead and ignore him in shallow leagues unless he pops early in the season.

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For more AFC South rookie roundups, click these links:

2018 Houston Texans Rookie Roundup

2018 Tennessee Titans Rookie Roundup

2018 Jacksonville Jaguars Rookie Roundup

About Jeff Krisko

You can follow me on twitter, @jeffkrisko for the same lukewarm takes you read here.

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