Colts have 4th best RB tandem

[Lucky Colts Fan]

https://www.nfl.com/news/top-five-rb-tandems-in-the-nfl

 

1.  Browns  -  Nick Chubb/Kareem Hunt

2.  Saints  -  Alvin Kamara/Latavius Murray

3.  Cowboys  -  Ezekiel Elliot/Tony Pollard

4.  Colts  -  Jonathan Taylor/Nyheim Hines/Marlon Mack

5.  Raiders  -  Josh Jacobs/Kenyon Drake

 

Quote

Despite Carson Wentz's arrival as the Colts' new QB1, the offense will run through a talented collection of running backs playing behind a stable of Clydesdales at the line of scrimmage. Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines and Marlon Mack are complementary jigsaw puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly in a diverse scheme that mixes power and pizzazz. Taylor is a punishing workhorse with a no-nonsense game that enabled him to quietly amass 1,169 rush yards and 11 touchdowns rumbling between the tackles as a rookie. Hines is a sensational space player with soft hands and polished receiving skills. The fourth-year pro has topped the 60-catch mark twice in three seasons while settling in as the designated third-down back in the rotation. Mack, who missed nearly the entire 2020 campaign with a torn Achilles, is the wild card as a key contributor with the skills to serve in either capacity as a fill-in. With three high-end playmakers in the backfield, the Colts can impose their will on opponents with a balanced attack fueled by their running backs. 

 

[JoeThornburg]

1 hour ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

https://www.nfl.com/news/top-five-rb-tandems-in-the-nfl

 

1.  Browns  -  Nick Chubb/Kareem Hunt

2.  Saints  -  Alvin Kamara/Latavius Murray

3.  Cowboys  -  Ezekiel Elliot/Tony Pollard

4.  Colts  -  Jonathan Taylor/Nyheim Hines/Marlon Mack

5.  Raiders  -  Josh Jacobs/Kenyon Drake

 

 

I think, at least on paper, the Colts have the best backfield in the NFL coming into the season, bar none. Of course Mack is going to get dinged because of his medical but the depth is pretty sick. 

[Mackrel829]

57 minutes ago, JoeThornburg said:

I think, at least on paper, the Colts have the best backfield in the NFL coming into the season, bar none. Of course Mack is going to get dinged because of his medical but the depth is pretty sick. 

 

I'd agree that they have the best running back room if you consider all players inside that room. If you're just looking at the top two, I think the Browns have to be top.

[RollerColt]

If we’re going by the entire group that affects the run game, including the offensive line, I’d say we could be 2nd if not the best, on paper.
 

 
 

 

[Dogg63]

I agree with PFF's take on it.

 

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-ranking-all-32-nfl-running-back-units-ahead-of-the-2021-season

 

Quote

1. CLEVELAND BROWNS

It’s not a stretch to say that Cleveland has two top-10 running backs on its roster in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, two of the most elusive runners in the league. Hunt is tied for second in missed tackles forced per rushing attempt (0.23) among all running backs with at least 250 carries since 2017. The only qualifying running back with a higher rate over that same time frame is Chubb (0.25). It’s a luxury to have two elite options like that available in the case of injury. That was on display in 2020 while Chubb was sidelined.

 

2. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

The Colts are another team that has impressive depth at running back after bringing back Marlon Mack on a cheap, one-year deal. Mack has multiple 1,000-yard seasons under his belt for Indianapolis at 25 years old, but he should be the third option in 2021 behind Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines, both of whom graded as top-10 running backs in the NFL in 2020.

 

Taylor was one of the best runners in the league down the stretch last year. His 461 rushing yards after contact from Week 10 through the end of the regular season ranked third in the NFL behind only Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb.

 

[holeymoley99]

Taylor's yardage was not quietly.....lol.   It was very loud , front and center down the stretch when needed most, everything else I agree with pretty much though.

[Jackie Daytona]

1 hour ago, holeymoley99 said:

Taylor's yardage was not quietly.....lol.   It was very loud , front and center down the stretch when needed most, everything else I agree with pretty much though.

People are skeptical because the time when Taylor really got established and settled in, coincided with us playing bad run defenses....I don't think it's a mirage, but many outside Indy are in wait and see mode on him.  Nothing wrong with that.

[Indyfan4life]

I’m so glad we have Taylor. Can’t believe people were upset when we drafted him. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

If Mack even comes back 90% healthy we are the only team that will have a 3-headed monster at RB, a few teams have a 2-headed monster as in Browns, Saints, Cowboys, etc. but we possibly will have 3 RB's that are real dangerous. I don't think Taylor will have a huge year yardage wise just for the simple fact he will split carries/time with Mack and Hines, he will still gain over (right at) 1000 Yards though IMO on at least 4 yards a carry. Depending on Mack's health, I can see Mack around 700 Yards on at least 4 yards a carry as well and Hines catching a lot of balls out of the backfield.

[shasta519]

47 minutes ago, Shafty138 said:

People are skeptical because the time when Taylor really got established and settled in, coincided with us playing bad run defenses....I don't think it's a mirage, but many outside Indy are in wait and see mode on him.  Nothing wrong with that.

Yep. It’s a fair position to have. Lots of things happen in the last quarter of an NFL season. And there’s definitely some recency bias when that happens too.

 

Half of Taylor’s production came in 4/5 games to end the season against LV, HOU x2 and JAC...including a 253-yard breakout in Week 17 against JAC (which was 1/5 of his overall production).

 

Those were all bottom-tier run defenses...and HOU and JAC were bottom 3 teams overall. 
 

This is the same guy who most thought was really struggling...and was even benched in the middle of the season. You even had fans/media calling for Wilkins to get more carries.

 

So it’s fair to be really high...and it’s fair to be hesitant on declaring him a legit top 10 RB yet.

[shasta519]

52 minutes ago, Indyfan4life said:

I’m so glad we have Taylor. Can’t believe people were upset when we drafted him. 

Yeah I didn’t get that reaction. I think people saw it as a slight to Mack. 

 

But having top-tier skill position talent is a very good thing. And that RB class was loaded. 

[shasta519]

21 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

If Mack even comes back 90% healthy we are the only team that will have a 3-headed monster at RB, a few teams have a 2-headed monster as in Browns, Saints, Cowboys, etc. but we possibly will have 3 RB's that are real dangerous. I don't think Taylor will have a huge year yardage wise just for the simple fact he will split carries/time with Mack and Hines, he will still gain over (right at) 1000 Yards though IMO on at least 4 yards a carry. Depending on Mack's health, I can see Mack around 700 Yards on at least 4 yards a carry as well and Hines catching a lot of balls out of the backfield.

Hmmm...so you have Mack projected to have 150-200 carries? Even in a 17-game season where he stays healthy, that’s 9-13 carries per game. 
 

That just seems like a really big workload, especially with Taylor here. Not to mention Hines, Wilkins and designed Wentz runs.

 

It could happen, but I think it would mean the Colts are running the ball 500+ times next season. 

[Myles]

13 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

Hmmm...so you have Mack projected to have 150-200 carries? Even in a 17-game season where he stays healthy, that’s 9-13 carries per game. 
 

That just seems like a really big workload, especially with Taylor here. Not to mention Hines, Wilkins and designed Wentz runs.

 

It could happen, but I think it would mean the Colts are running the ball 500+ times next season. 

9-13 carries a game could happen for Mack.   I think it all depends on who the hot hand is.  I don' think Reich will force the ball with any of them who are not producing.  It's on Taylor allot to prove the end of last season was who he is as a runner.  

11 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

https://www.nfl.com/news/top-five-rb-tandems-in-the-nfl

 

1.  Browns  -  Nick Chubb/Kareem Hunt

2.  Saints  -  Alvin Kamara/Latavius Murray

3.  Cowboys  -  Ezekiel Elliot/Tony Pollard

4.  Colts  -  Jonathan Taylor/Nyheim Hines/Marlon Mack

5.  Raiders  -  Josh Jacobs/Kenyon Drake

 

 

I think 4th sounds about right.   

[2006Coltsbestever]

32 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

Hmmm...so you have Mack projected to have 150-200 carries? Even in a 17-game season where he stays healthy, that’s 9-13 carries per game. 
 

That just seems like a really big workload, especially with Taylor here. Not to mention Hines, Wilkins and designed Wentz runs.

 

It could happen, but I think it would mean the Colts are running the ball 500+ times next season. 

It all depends, Reich in the past usually goes with the hot hand and health is a huge factor in all of this. Why burn out Taylor if you don't have too. Mack's health is the key here, Taylor very well could get a ton of carries and gain 13-1400 Yards and Mack around 500. Hines won't get many carries if Taylor and Mack are healthy but he will be used to catch balls. I doubt we run the ball 500 times lol but I think we run it a lot. Derrick Henry by himself last year ran it 378 times. That will be our strength and keeping Wentz healthy, JMO.

[Myles]

23 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

It all depends, Reich in the past usually goes with the hot hand and health is a huge factor in all of this. Why burn out Taylor if you don't have too. Mack's health is the key here, Taylor very well could get a ton of carries and gain 13-1400 Yards and Mack around 500. Hines won't get many carries if Taylor and Mack are healthy but he will be used to catch balls. I doubt we run the ball 500 times lol but I think we run it a lot. Derrick Henry by himself last year ran it 378 times. That will be our strength and keeping Wentz healthy, JMO.

I think the bolded is key.   It would be smart to save Taylors legs if Mack is effective.   It would add value to the 1 year signing of Mack.  

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, Myles said:

I think the bolded is key.   It would be smart to save Taylors legs if Mack is effective.   It would add value to the 1 year signing of Mack.  

I agree. Some people think it will be a failure if Taylor only has around 1000-1100 yards but If Mack is healthy, that could happen. They will share carries in certain games + there may be a game or 2 where Hines has more carries than usual. It is called smart and winning football, it isn't about stats for 1 player (Taylor). Earlier I stated at least 4 yards a carry for both Taylor and Mack at least being the key word, they me be around 4.5 a carry in reality with less carries because of having fresher legs.

[LiveAndLetAddai]

If Mack returns like he was prior to his injury, they will quickly move up.

[EastStreet]

12 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I agree. Some people think it will be a failure if Taylor only has around 1000-1100 yards but If Mack is healthy, that could happen. They will share carries in certain games + there may be a game or 2 where Hines has more carries than usual. It is called smart and winning football, it isn't about stats for 1 player (Taylor). Earlier I stated at least 4 yards a carry for both Taylor and Mack at least being the key word, they me be around 4.5 a carry in reality with less carries because of having fresher legs.

People should want the team to rank top 5 or 10 in yards per game, or AVG. I really don't care who gets the yards to be honest. I just want to be a top 5ish rushing team. And I don't want to run the tires off any one RB. That said, I hated some of the situational usage last year. If Mack is back to health, we should have a very nice 1-2 punch (general rotation), and a great 1-2-3 punch when you include APB stats. And I'm stoked about JT's success in the passing game last year. Didn't expect that.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 hour ago, EastStreet said:

People should want the team to rank top 5 or 10 in yards per game, or AVG. I really don't care who gets the yards to be honest. I just want to be a top 5ish rushing team. And I don't want to run the tires off any one RB. That said, I hated some of the situational usage last year. If Mack is back to health, we should have a very nice 1-2 punch (general rotation), and a great 1-2-3 punch when you include APB stats. And I'm stoked about JT's success in the passing game last year. Didn't expect that.

I agree, my exact point.

[AwesomeAustin]

Seems about right. Top 5 is awesome!!

[Stephen]

If mack is back healthy the drop off from him to Taylor isn't much

[Boondoggle]

The depth is excellent.  But as to the whole tandem thing I think Taylor will be the horse.  He's going to get the meaningful snaps because he can turn short gainers into long TDs.  

 

The concern with Taylor for me is just his sheer amount of mileage.  He had a lot of touches in college.  But I think he's head and shoulders above the other guys, who are good but not the total package he is.

[IndyEric07]

On 6/6/2021 at 12:08 PM, Myles said:

I think 4th sounds about right.   

 

Our trio behind a better/best OL and better(atleast more mobile)QB, Colts should lead the league in rushing this year easily!

[Myles]

13 hours ago, IndyEric07 said:

 

Our trio behind a better/best OL and better(atleast more mobile)QB, Colts should lead the league in rushing this year easily!

It really wasn't about O-lines.   

We are splitting hairs here and the Colts could end up with the best RB crew in the league, but 4 is about right at the moment.   Mack is coming off a serious injury so he is a bit of a question mark.  Taylor got most of his yards against poor run defenses so he still has something to prove.  

[Lawrence Owen]

On 6/6/2021 at 8:19 AM, Dogg63 said:

I agree with PFF's take on it.

 

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-ranking-all-32-nfl-running-back-units-ahead-of-the-2021-season

 

 

Yeah, they have the Browns and Colts #1 & #2 in the NFL, in both RB stables, & Offensive lines.