Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck
The concerns over Andrew Luck’s health and arm strength seem to be a distant memory after he finished his comeback season as the QB5. Fantasy football owners would have liked to have seen more performances like his 4 touchdowns and 464 passing yard performance against the Texans in week 4, but he had multiple passing touchdowns in 13 of his 16 games.
Luck’s 9.3 rushing yards per game was comfortably the lowest of his career, having averaged more than 15 in every other season. Last year was also only the second time that he failed to score a rushing touchdown, having scored at least 2 in every previous year except for 2015, when he played only seven games due to injury. With the Indianapolis Colts offensive line looking as strong as it has since he was drafted, look for Luck to re-establish himself as a fantasy superstar.
T.Y. Hilton
In an era of superstar wide receivers, T.Y. Hilton has slipped under the radar. Since being drafted in 2012, Hilton has never finished the season lower than WR24. Furthermore, he’s only missed four games in that time. Hilton is clearly the top option in the Colts passing attack and will continue to dominate the targets. He had the sixth-highest receiving yards per game in the league in 2018, finishing above JuJu Smith-Schuster, Michael Thomas, Odell Beckham Jr., and Antonio Brown, all of whom will likely be drafted above him.
Marlon Mack
Marlon Mack is quickly becoming one of the hottest names in fantasy football after racking up 1,011 yards from scrimmage in just 12 games last season. Entering his third season, many are expecting him to be the bell cow of the Colts backfield. After beginning last year on the sideline, he quickly relegated Jordan Wilkins to the backup role.
If Mack’s 12 game production was extrapolated to 16 games, he’d have finished the season with 1,211 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, while also adding 137 receiving yards. While other running backs also missed time, that would have been the fourth-most rushing yards in the NFL in 2018, behind only Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, and Todd Gurley. It’s easy to see why Mack is a popular option for fantasy owners.
Sleepers
Andrew Luck has always had a good rapport with his tight ends and it was Eric Ebron who was the beneficiary last season. Ebron looked like the player that the Detroit Lions thought that they were drafting with the 10th overall pick back in 2014. He set career highs in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Critics will say that his production decreased in the games that Jack Doyle played, but Luck clearly felt more comfortable with Ebron in the red zone. He’s not a safe play but can be a weekly winner.
His competition for snaps comes in the shape of Jack Doyle. Doyle’s always been a solid player. He catches the ball and he can move the chains. Luck trusts him and he fits the offense, but he rarely has big games. When healthy, he’s a better option than anything you’ll find on waivers and will usually get you at least an average number of points. His lack of upside means you’ll probably always be considering an upgrade, but if you have high variance players at other positions, he’ll keep you on track.
Once considered the future of the Carolina Panthers at wide receiver, Devin Funchess’ career slowed when it became apparent that he struggled with catching the ball. His 51.8% catch rate on 311 career targets won’t endear him to many quarterbacks, but Luck is a more accurate passer than Cam Newton and is used to maximizing the production of lesser players. With the defense focusing on Hilton, Mack, Ebron, and Doyle, Funchess should have some easier matchups and should earn consideration as your WR3 or FLEX option at times this season.
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