The Colts let Frank Gore go in the offseason, leaving Marlon Mack atop their depth chart. It's fair to say that few if any expect him to keep that job into the regular season. Last year's third-round pick wasn't particularly effective, averaging just 3.8 yards per carry with his limited chances.
But Mack himself believes he's ready for that "top dog" role. "Everybody wants to be the top dog, and so you’ve just got to (be motivated) and just be hungry and attack," he told the team's website.
There's one area where Mack was pretty good a year ago: after the catch. Mack turned his 21 receptions into 225 yards. Among all No. 2 running backs, that 10.7 yards per catch was one of the highest rates in the league.
| NO. 2 RUNNING BACKS, YARDS PER CATCH | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | Avg | Lg | TDP |
| Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 11 | 136 | 12.4 | 66t | 1 |
| Corey Clement, Phil. | 10 | 123 | 12.3 | 28 | 2 |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 27 | 299 | 11.1 | 39 | 3 |
| Marlon Mack, Ind. | 21 | 225 | 10.7 | 34 | 1 |
| Rod Smith, Dall. | 19 | 202 | 10.6 | 81t | 1 |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 27 | 279 | 10.3 | 38 | 3 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 30 | 287 | 9.6 | 67 | 0 |
| Kyle Juszczyk, S.F. | 33 | 315 | 9.5 | 44 | 1 |
| Jalen Richard, Oak. | 27 | 256 | 9.5 | 39 | 1 |
| Mike Davis, Sea. | 15 | 131 | 8.7 | 23 | 0 |
| Samaje Perine, Wash. | 22 | 182 | 8.3 | 25 | 1 |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 28 | 224 | 8.0 | 25 | 1 |
| D.J. Foster, Ariz. | 17 | 133 | 7.8 | 20 | 0 |
| Damien Williams, Mia. | 20 | 155 | 7.8 | 24 | 1 |
| Ty Montgomery, G.B. | 23 | 173 | 7.5 | 23 | 1 |
| T.J. Yeldon, Jac. | 30 | 224 | 7.5 | 20 | 0 |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 23 | 170 | 7.4 | 31 | 0 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 58 | 416 | 7.2 | 54 | 0 |
| Peyton Barber, T.B. | 16 | 114 | 7.1 | 34 | 0 |
| Latavius Murray, Minn. | 15 | 103 | 6.9 | 28 | 0 |
| Dion Lewis, N.E. | 32 | 214 | 6.7 | 20 | 3 |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 28 | 182 | 6.5 | 38 | 0 |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 8 | 52 | 6.5 | 21 | 1 |
| Ameer Abdullah, Det. | 25 | 162 | 6.5 | 22 | 1 |
| Danny Woodhead, Balt. | 33 | 200 | 6.1 | 22 | 0 |
| Malcolm Brown, LAR | 9 | 53 | 5.9 | 16 | 0 |
| Wayne Gallman, NYG | 34 | 193 | 5.7 | 11 | 1 |
| Mike Tolbert, Buff. | 14 | 78 | 5.6 | 12 | 0 |
| Charcandrick West, K.C. | 27 | 150 | 5.6 | 25 | 2 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 23 | 125 | 5.4 | 12 | 0 |
| Tyler Ervin, Hou. | 8 | 38 | 4.8 | 7 | 0 |
| Fitzgerald Toussaint, Pitt. | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 7 | 0 |
Even if you added in No. 1s, actually, the only other backs better than Mack last year were Chris Thompson (13.1) and Todd Gurley (12.3).
The Colts, with nothing else on the roster but Robert Turbin and Christine Michael, seem likely to add talent in the draft. Should Saquon Barkley be available when they draft at No. 6 overall, they could even take him. That would relegate Mack obsolete fairly quickly.
But no one should be writing Mack off just yet. He might wind up having some fantasy value in 2018.
--Andy Richardson