2021 Nyheim Hines Fantasy Football Player Profile

It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We finished our quarterbacks already; that means it’s time to get to the most frustrating position! That’s right, we’re on to the running backs. Last year, Nyheim Hines burst onto the scene as one of the pass catching backs to have. Should we worry a lot about 2021 Jonathan Taylor when assessing 2021 Nyheim Hines’ value? Or is it all just going to come out in the wash?

Nyheim Hines ADP & AAV:

Average Draft Position (HPPR): RB42, Pick 112
Average Auction Value: $1.3 (RB43)

Nyheim Hines Statistics:

2021 Nyheim Hines Fantasy Football Overview:

Nobody saw Nyheim Hines’ 2020 season coming. Well, almost nobody. Nyheim Hines was one of a small list of backs to get 80+ targets and 80+ carries in his rookie year, and after a down year in 2019, the Indianapolis Colts leaned back into Hines. He performed decently enough as a satellite back during the season, ending the year with 862 yards and 7 touchdowns. His main value came in his 64 receptions last year on his 77 targets; both ranked third among running backs last year, which greatly boosted his value. To put it a different way: in PPR leagues, he ended the year as RB17; in non-PPR leagues, he ended the year as RB26.

Unfortunately, there’s another running back in Indianapolis. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Jonathan Taylor, first-round fantasy pick? That certainly gums up the works going forward. Except… not really? Jonathan Taylor set the world ablaze in the last five weeks of the season. In those Games, Nyheim Hines paced out for more yards. In those games, he paced out for 934 yards on 61 catches. Hines played about one-third of snaps in these games and averaged 10.8 PPR fantasy points in that span. A lack of touchdowns muted his scoring but averaging about 60 yards and four catches is just where you want to be as a baseline for a depth, plug-and-play, running back.

2021 Nyheim Hines Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:

Nyheim Hines Auction Value: $0
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!

Hines is going well into the second half of drafts and is going somewhere where I want to snag him. PPR backs late in drafts are some of the best values that you can get in drafts. Over the last five years, 15 PPR running back seasons have come with at least 55% of their fantasy points coming through the air, and with fewer than 7.5 carries per game, and who went outside the top-50 picks. This fits the definition of a “pass-catching running back” to me, at least. The average pick of these guys? Pick 124, RB55. The average finish? RB24, 12.7 PPR points per game.

Go get Nyheim Hines at his ADP in all PPR leagues, and soak up that value. I’m not all that concerned with Jonathan Taylor; Hines thrived in a part-time role last year, and there’s a reasonable cap on snap percentages. Hines will nestle in nicely as a passing downs/PPR back. Should Taylor get hurt, Hines and Marlon Mack will make a formidable fantasy football one-two punch.

The draft price? It’s just showing you that you don’t have to break the bank for Hines in 2021.

Best Case Scenario:

2019 Austin Ekeler.

Worst Case Scenario:

2017 Austin Ekeler.

Check out all our 2021 player profiles, here.

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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]