INDIANAPOLIS -- One running back is a fantasy owner’s dream. Marlon Mack is coming off his first 1,000-yard rushing season, when he also scored eight touchdowns. He has extra motivation after not receiving a contract extension in the offseason.
The other is also a fantasy owner’s dream. Jonathan Taylor is a rookie who is coming off back-to-back 2,000-yard rushing seasons with 42 total touchdowns in the past two years at Wisconsin.
But are Mack and Taylor really a fantasy owner’s dream when they play the same position on the same team and their playing time will be predicated by how they’re doing and what the game plan is from week to week?
Good luck trying to decide who to start each week.
It's a good problem for the Colts to have, but not one for those trying to figure out which direction they want to go in their fantasy drafts.
The problem is so good the Colts have called Mack and Taylor the “one-one punch” at running back.
“We have to have one of the better groups in the NFL,” Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said. “Most certainly [it] is probably the best group I’ve been on in my 12 years in the NFL. Very pleased with this group -- one of the strengths of our offense and the depth that we have. You have a guy like Marlon who has really good speed and vision and able to make you miss. That’s complemented well with Jonathan, who is bigger and still really fast. He has good vision.”
The running back room could have quickly become awkward for the Colts when they selected Taylor, 21, with their second second-round pick in this year's draft. It could have been a slap in the face to Mack, 24, because he's coming off a career season.
“I just witness two good teammates to each other, rooting for each other, pulling for each other, but also hungry to compete with each other and -- ‘Hey, I want these carries. I want these carries.’ I never hear them say that, but I do see them help each other out and I do see them being good teammates to each other,” Sirianni said. “That’s key, and that is the type of guys that we have here. We have good teammates and good players. It’s been fun to watch them. It’s been fun to watch them interact, communicate, help each other and compete at the same time. It’s going to greatly benefit us to have those two types of caliber backs. They will just be fresh all game, and they are both going to get carries.”
Colts coach Frank Reich called Mack to give him the heads-up that they were selecting the Wisconsin star, who finished in the top 10 of Heisman Trophy voting for three consecutive years.
Mack’s response back in April was simple: “Let’s go, let’s go get it.”
“As a running back, it just motivates you,” Mack said. “It’s just a business, like you said, but just coming in -- I know we can be great together. I’m more of a team guy so we can come together as a team, go out there and just put in work. Everybody has the same goal on this team -- to get to the Super Bowl, go 1-0 each week.”
Mack will be the Week 1 starter at Jacksonville. Reich has repeatedly said he deserves to be that guy. There will be plenty of opportunities for touches for Taylor because, as All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson wears on his hat, the Colts like to "run the damn ball." They finished seventh in the league in rushing in 2019, and could finish higher this season with the addition of Taylor to go with Mack, Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins and the return of the entire starting offensive line.
“We’re going to continue to take the same approach that we have -- where it’s week in and week out, hot hand and all those things,” Reich said. “We’re expecting a big year from all of our backs but in particular, Marlon. He looks good. I feel good about how the backs complement each other. I really do. I feel like that’s a strong room for us. I feel like those guys are very unselfish. They are in it for each other. Marlon needs to be a leader -- the way he plays and we expect him to do that.”
Having versatility is a major positive for Colts quarterback Philip Rivers. Having that much talent and depth at that position means he won’t have to carry the offense with his right arm, and when he wants to throw, Rivers enjoys turning to his backs. He completed 148 passes to running backs with the Chargers last season. The Colts only completed 70 passes to their running backs last season.
Taylor has the advantage in the pass-catching area because he had 26 receptions for 252 yards and five touchdowns last season at Wisconsin. Hines is the primary pass-catching back for the Colts because he can also line up out wide to take advantage of his speed. He had 44 receptions for 320 yards last season.
"They’ll be great complements to each other,” Rivers said. “I’m always careful to try and make comparisons with guys from the past, but I think that’s just human nature a little bit – guys you’ve been with over the years and then who they remind you of. Jonathan reminds me a lot of Michael Turner, if you all remember from the old San Diego days. Similar in size and people forget how fast Michael Turner was, but he could really run -- same with Jonathan. They are similar in that regard.
“[Mack has] made so many plays, both run game and pass game. He looks and seems to feel great. I think certainly in answering that question about those two guys, they will complement each other very well, but I think the one thing that stands out about both of them -- as I’ve always had the best view in the house after I hand one off to them -- is their vision. The combination of that with the guys we have up front, it can really make the run game awesome.”
Mack and Taylor are the perfect complementary pieces for the Colts. But be warned: The same can't be said about them when it comes to helping you win each week in fantasy football.