2020 Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Week 2: Who Starts Sunday vs. Minnesota Vikings?
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts lost last week, but from a fantasy football perspective, there was plenty to salvage.
Some of the knots in position groups have been untangled after the unfortunate season-ending Achilles injury to running back Marlon Mack, and with the confirmation that T.Y. Hilton and Parris Campbell are the top two pass targets at wide receiver.
This Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Colts face a Minnesota Vikings team that had a defensive meltdown last week and allowed standout fantasy performances to their opponent’s quarterback, running back, and receivers.
Which Colts should you be zeroing in on this week?
(Weekly positional rankings from FantasyPros.com, based on Half-PPR scoring. Ranks as of Thursday of game week.)
QB Philip Rivers
— Last game: 36-of-46 (78.3%), 363 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1 carry, 3 yards
— FantasyPros Week 2 Position Rank: QB21
— 2020 Vikings vs. QBs: 31st (30.6 FPPG)
Rivers finished as QB22 last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but just taking his two interceptions away and not accounting for any additional stats, what he accumulated would’ve put him at QB13.
Rivers lamented specifically his second interception as well as a missed look early in the game to tight end Jack Doyle, who could have scored on a slant route. While Rivers may make occasional mistakes, he knows immediately what he could’ve done to rectify them.
Rivers looks to correct those issues against a Vikings defense that got shredded by Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Minnesota now ranks at or near the bottom in: Passing yards (364.0 YPG); passing TDs (four); yards per pass attempt allowed (8.3); pass plays of 20-plus (five) and 40-plus (two) yards allowed; and opponent passer rating (127.5). They also didn’t have an interception or sack.
Rivers has a decent floor and a high ceiling this weekend. He completes a high number of passes, threw for the third-most yards in the NFL last week, and was tied for attempting the eighth-most deep pass attempts while Minnesota had the most thrown against them.
Nyheim Hines (21) and Jonathan Taylor (28) are expected to share the Colts' workload at running back after Marlon Mack was placed on injured reserve.
Douglas DeFelice/USA TODAY Sports
RBs Jonathan Taylor/Nyheim Hines
— Last game: Taylor - 9 carries, 22 yards, 6 catches (6 targets), 67 yards | Hines - 7 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD, 8 catches (8 targets), 45 yards, 1 TD
— FantasyPros Week 2 Position Rank: Taylor RB11, Hines RB27
— 2020 Vikings vs. RBs: 24th (23.6 FPPG)
It wasn’t the way that any of us wanted to figure it out, but the Colts backfield rotation has a little more definition after Mack was placed on season-ending injured reserve this week.
“Yeah, that’s exactly right,” head coach Frank Reich said about Jonathan Taylor taking over as the starting running back. “Jonathan will step into the starting role. He looked good (Sunday). Again, I won’t go into it with Marlon, but such a big loss and so upset for Marlon. But Jonathan is ready. He’ll step up and he’ll do a great job. Nyheim is still going to be an important part of the mix – on all downs, not just on third down. But then Jordan (Wilkins) will step up. We’ve got a lot of confidence in Jordan. I’m a big Jordan fan. He’s an excellent runner and he’ll do a good job for us.”
Hines was much more involved early, especially as a runner. With Mack going down and Taylor assuming the starting role, the question is whether Hines’ involvement will stay consistent.
“As far as Nyheim, yeah, we will continue to mix him in,” Reich said. “He’s not just a third-down back in our eyes, even though he is really good on third down. We think he is a very productive player on first and second down. He’s a three-down back. He’s good in pass protection. He’s a great runner and then on first and second down you can still utilize him in the pass game. That’s what we’ll continue to do. Jonathan will get the bulk of the carries, but Nyheim and Jordan Wilkins will be the change of pace.”
After Rivers went 17-of-17 targeting running backs in the pass game — and their involvement is now increased — Taylor and Hines are very valuable. Taylor is a definite start this week, and Hines should be in the mix for your FLEX spots.
The Vikings got gashed through the air and didn’t do much better trying to stop the run. They rank 29th against the run (158.0 YPG) and are tied for 23rd in yards per carry allowed (4.9).
Second-year Colts receiver Parris Campbell dives for a Week 1 catch.
Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports
WR T.Y. Hilton/Parris Campbell
— Last game: Hilton - 4 catches (9 targets), 53 yards | Campbell - 6 catches (9 targets), 71 yards
— FantasyPros Week 2 Position Rank: Hilton WR19, Campbell WR40
— 2020 Vikings vs. WRs: 32nd (57.4 FPPG)
Hilton didn’t go off as expected against a young, inexperienced Jacksonville secondary, but if not for two drops on the final drive, he would’ve posted a stat line of at least six catches for 72 yards (10.2 points).
He’s in a similar situation against a young group of Vikings cornerbacks. At the risk of not falling into the same trap, I’ll just say that Hilton will be determined to have a much more productive week, and the matchup is there for it to happen.
The Colts had big plans for then-rookie receiver Parris Campbell last season, but repeated injuries derailed his progress. This year, things look like they’re clicking for him. Campbell was tied for the team lead in pass targets with Hilton and earned praise from his quarterback.
“I think with Parris too, I always felt like he was a fourth-, fifth-year guy,” Rivers said. “I don’t know why, and then you realize it’s his second year, and his first year he had so many injuries and didn’t play a ton. The ceiling is so high for him. The sky is the limit. He’s a strong, fast guy. You saw some of that last week in some of those deep-overs he caught, the reverse, and some other things as well. He’ll continue to be a big part of the offense moving forward and just another aspect, another weapon from a skill position standpoint.”
Campbell is already off to a good start and had a quality game, and he was about a foot short of adding a 26-yard touchdown near the end.
The Vikings gave up 14 catches for 156 yards and two TDs to receiver Davante Adams. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard combined for eight catches for 159 yards and two TDs.
You’ll want Hilton and Campbell in lineups.
Boom or Bust
The “Boom” players outside of the top 10 at their position group in FantasyPros’ Week 2 rankings have high upside this week. The ”Bust” players are inside the top 15 at their position, but could fall short of expectations.
Boom:
— RB Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks (RB15) vs. New England Patriots
— RB David Montgomery, Chicago Bears (RB25) vs. New York Giants
— WR Darius Slayton, New York Giants (WR38) vs. Chicago Bears
Bust:
— QB Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans (QB9) vs. Baltimore Ravens
— RB Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings (RB5) @ Indianapolis Colts
— WR Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams (WR9) @ Philadelphia Eagles
Who I’m Adding This Week
Here are players worth acquiring from the waiver wire. They are owned in 40 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues.
— RB Joshua Kelley, Los Angeles Chargers (36%)
— WR Russell Gage, Atlanta Falcons (17%)
— TE Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team (16%)
— WR Laviska Shenault Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars (15%)
— RB Frank Gore, New York Jets (11%)
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(Jake Arthur has covered the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts for nearly a decade and is a contributor for the team's official website, Colts.com. He’s on Twitter and Facebook @JakeArthurNFL, and his email is jakearthur0890@yahoo.com.)
