Colts Appear Ready to Use Nyheim Hines More as a Wide Receiver in 2022
The Indianapolis Colts may not have the deepest group of pass catchers in the league, but the team appears ready to use the ace up their sleeve much more in 2022. While running back Nyheim Hines has been featured quite a bit in the passing game in his career, the fifth-year back is in line for more work as a receiver this upcoming season.
Hines, 25, has been prominently featured in the Colts' passing game over the years, hauling in 210 receptions since the 2018 season (6th most among NFL running backs in that time frame). With the addition of quarterback Matt Ryan, and a newly focused passing game for the team, Hines could be in line for even more work this upcoming season.
What the Coaches are Saying
Sifting through the coach-speak and regular offseason hype, the Colts' coaches haven't been shy about talking about the young running back's potential in the passing game.
Head Coach Frank Reich had this to say about the potential of using both Hines and Jonathan Taylor on the field at the same time this upcoming season:
We can utilize Nyheim in a number of different ways where we line him up in the backfield with JT (Jonathan Taylor) or put him anywhere in the formation and feel like there’s going to be confidence there. Nyheim’s, as we’ve said all along, he’s just a guy who’s going to be involved in this offense. He’s magnetic when he has the ball in his hands, we feed off of his energy.
I continue to be excited about – I know everyone talks about our skill, do we have enough ‘skill’ at those positions, but I just think, I’m hoping we surprise a lot of people with how it looks.
Offensive Coordinator Marcus Brady also spoke in length about Hines' ability to play in the backfield and his ability to line up out wide as a receiver:
The ability that Nyheim (Hines) has to be able to line up in the backfield to take carries in between the tackles helps, because now we can be multiple in doing that. We can motion JT (Jonathan Taylor) out, we can put Nyheim in the slot and run routes. He runs routes like receivers well. So, he gives us that versatility to make it hard on defenses.
We’re going to spread him out, (Jonathan Taylor is) very talented outside but Nyheim’s (Hines) ability to play both essentially allows us to be a little more creative.
Both coaches have talked about the possibility of having both players on the field at the same time and both have particularly mentioned using Hines more as a receiver. While these quotes are certainly worth noting, these aren't the only reasons to believe that the star running back could see more time out wide in 2022.
2021 Evidence
Despite Hines seeing his fewest receptions in a season last year, he did see a career high in snaps at wide receiver in 2021. For his career, Hines has consistently seen around 70-80 snaps out wide per season. In 2021, that number climbed all the way up to 124 snaps.
So, despite not seeing as many targets last year, the effort to get him more involved out wide was there. That number could stand to even go up more in 2022.
Evidence in Camp
On top of all of the evidence we have from coach quotes and snaps in 2021, we have even more evidence just looking at training camp this year. The Colts have had Hines practicing with the wide receivers quite a bit this offseason, even going as far as having him go through drills with the wide outs while the running backs are off doing other drills on the other end of the field.
The Colts' social media team even posted a clip of a Matt Ryan touchdown pass at the end of camp on Saturday. The play featured Ryan throwing an out route to the slot receiver to his left-- the slot receiver on the play was none other than Nyheim Hines.
Hines is getting a ton of run with the receivers in training camp and it is easy to see that the team plans on using him this way in 2022.
With all of this evidence right before our eyes, it is hard to ignore the fact that the Colts are going to get creative with Hines in 2022. In the words of Frank Reich, "if I was going to be in a fantasy league, I think I'd pick Nyheim this year."
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