Five Biggest Questions
1. If healthy, can Carson Wentz be a top-14 QB?
2. Can Jonathan Taylor be a top-6 RB?
3. Will Nyheim Hines be a top-24 RB?
4. Is Marlon Mack draftable in smaller leagues?
5. Will Michael Pittman Jr. or T.Y. Hilton be a top-30 WR?
If he can get through his injury, Carson Wentz will be an upgrade over the way-past-his-prime Philip Rivers. When thinking of Wentz, I don't see his 2020 decline as the new normal. His per-game production from 2017 to 2019 were somewhere between good and outstanding. At times he's looked like an elite QB, and often he's looked like a franchise QB. But clearly his time was up in Philly, and Indy was supposed to give him a better o-line and better pass-catching backs. Essentially, as long as he didn't do worse than Rivers, this team would be good enough to reach the playoffs. So the question now is whether Wentz will be sidelined for a while, or if he can return to 100% by September. If the former, 2020 fourth-rounder Jacob Eason will get the first crack at the starting job. In this offense, about 50 NFL QBs dink their way to top-24 production. That means if Wentz is good to go, I'll be more bullish about him than any seemingly sane person.
In the backfield, Marlon Mack's Week 1 season-ending injury opened the door for rookie Jonathan Taylor to become the offensive workhorse he deserved to be. Not that Mack isn't good. But Taylor (RB-6 ADP) is a cut above, and now Mack (RB-57) will be no better than a glorified handcuff. Surely the coaching staff will find ways to get Mack involved, and it could prevent Taylor from exceeding last year's 268-touch campaign. I'll be interested in seeing whether Taylor can once again crack double-digit scores. For now, I'm a bit wary of Taylor at his price, preferring him in the 8-10 range, while Mack is a must-roster handcuff. Meanwhile, Nyheim Hines (RB-42) keeps crushing it through the air and is a no-brainer at that price.
With Wentz out, the Colts' receivers obviously take a hit. I was looking forward to seeing a modest T.Y. Hilton resurgence. Instead, he (WR-51) and Michael Pittman Jr. (WR-43) will try to make the best of a tough situation, at least until Wentz returns. Both remain draftable in very deep leagues, and I won't be excited about either one until we see what Eason can do. Parris Campbell (WR-66) probably needs to wait a year before jumping into most fantasy draft conversations, and Zach Pascal (WR-125) needs multiple receiver injuries to be semi-relevant.
For three years I watched Mo Alie-Cox play basketball for VCU against my Davidson Wildcats. He was tough and efficient, and he hustled. His talent and work ethic have brought him to the cusp of becoming a weekly NFL starter. Standing in his way are Jack Doyle (TE-40) and rookie Kylen Granson (TE-44). With Alie-Cox sitting at TE-41, this has to be the most tightly packed TE trio in ADP history. Granson is the dynasty investment, Doyle is a fading boom-bust investment, and Alie-Cox is entirely TD dependent. So their fantasy values cancel each other out. But on the field, together, they will be fun to watch.
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