X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Is Marlon Mack Legit?

Indianapolis Colts RB Marlon Mack is a hot waiver wire add and trade asset entering Week 8 of the 2018 NFL season. Aaron Schillinger examines Mack's profile to determine if he is indeed a legit running back asset in fantasy football leagues.

Week 7 in the NFL wasn't exactly ideal for the stud running backs in fantasy football. Ezekiel Elliot was a dud after being projected as an elite option against Washington, Melvin Gordon was inactive, LeSean McCoy was injured early on, Sony Michel was injured, and Joe Mixon was underwhelming. Other running backs were also disappointing, but you get the idea. There's a good chance that some of your teams somewhere were disappointed by one or more of your usual stud running backs. On the flip side, you had guys like Nick Chubb and Marlon Mack stepping in and getting it done.

This is the time of the year when a waiver wire claim for a guy like Chubb or Mack can really turn your team around and even turn into a potential league winner. Let's hope you grabbed one or both of these running backs last week or have been stashing them for some time because both of these guys may be just what your team needs to make a playoff run.

That leads us to the question, "Is Marlon Mack Legit?"

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

The Profile

At 5'11" 213 pounds out of Central Florida, the second-year running back for the Indianapolis Colts finds himself in a prime position to step in and claim an RB1 role. Heading into the 2017 season, Marlon Mack was getting some love as a potential late-round running back to target in your fantasy drafts. PlayerProfiler actually had his comparison to none other than Marshawn Lynch. He wasn't viewed as your typical three-down back as a rookie, but more of a complimentary back. He shows excellent speed and I believe he shows more speed during games rather than his combine speed showed. His 4.5 forty-yard-dash time wasn't too impressive and he didn't run in the agility drills. Similar to his game speed, his film in college shows his ability to cut and I believe he does have the quickness to make defenders miss in the NFL. I believe the most intriguing part of his game is his speed and the home run potential that comes with it.


Pro-Football-Reference.com

 

Rookie Campaign

Unfortunately for Mack, he was forced to sit behind one of the league's most consistent running backs in veteran Frank Gore. Gore played all 16 games in 2017 and had 1,206 yards from scrimmage with four total touchdowns. He finished his rookie season playing in 14 games where he totaled 358 rushing yards on 93 carries and three touchdowns. It's worth noting that he also was targetted 33 times and caught 21 of them for 225 receiving yards and a touchdown. The upside in the passing game that comes with Mack is intriguing, and could ultimately help with his ceiling for fantasy purposes.

Mack's rookie campaign was fairly disappointing for a number of reasons that I don't believe he should be discounted for. The first and most obvious was the absence of Andrew Luck. Jacoby Brissett wasn't terrible, but that offense as a whole was struggling. The offensive line was also a major struggle. The Colts have shuffled their offensive line around too many times to count over the last few years. According to FootballOutsiders, Colts run blocking statistically was slightly below average in 2017. Their pass protection was ranked dead last on the season. So far in 2018, they're ranked in fifth in both run blocking and pass protection, which is something that Mack owners should be very excited about. The final and more obvious reason for Mack's struggles in his rookie campaign from a fantasy standpoint was the volume. I'll chalk this up almost entirely to Gore. With Gore now in Miami, Mack's window of opportunity is wide open.

 

The Opportunity

Sometimes all it takes for a player to be successful in the NFL (and for your fantasy football teams), all it takes is the right opportunity. For Marlon Mack, the opportunity currently in front of him should have all you Mack owners foaming at the mouth. After missing Week 1, Mack was active for Week 2 against the Redskins where he saw 10 carries. Weeks three, four, and five, Mack was sidelined dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. In Week 6 on the road against the Jets, he saw 12 carries in a shootout that forced the Colts to have a game script that wasn't ideal for Mack. In Week 7, we saw him blow up against the Bills for 159 total yards and two touchdowns. 21 total touches for Mack is exactly what we've been hoping for him to get now that he's fully healthy, and again, the opportunity is wide open.

The biggest negative that I can see for Mack for fantasy purposes, is another piece of that backfield. Rookies Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins are the only guys standing in front of Mack for playing time, and potentially taking opportunities away from him. According to FootballOutsiders, Hines has been leading the Colts backfield in snaps this year. Hines also saw more snaps in Week 6 with 30 offensive snaps (43%) while Mack had 24 snaps (35%). Hines has shown some explosiveness and some great playmaking ability, especially in the passing game. While Mack is serviceable in the passing game, I believe Hines is one of those satellite-back types of players who will be valuable in PPR formats. This is where his ceiling could get a cap on it. To be clear, Hines, coming out of NC State, was one of my favorite late-round rookies to target for his PPR upside alone. While I do believe that Hines can put a limit on Mack's overall upside, that isn't to say that Mack can't be great. On his volume alone, they both can have nice roles in that offense.

This brings us back to our original question, 'Is Marlon Mack Legit?' In short...Yes. Mack is a legit talent and has all the opportunity in the world to take over this backfield and make it his own. He's shown to be more than just a third-down type of back and appears to have the body and physicality to handle large workloads. As someone that I saw going as late as the 9th round of redraft leagues this year, there's a chance you've been stashing him and waiting. The writing was on the wall for him to breakout this past week against the Bills, and sure enough, he did. If you've been holding on to Mack or acquired him recently, props to you. You've got someone with all the opportunity in the world to be a gamechanger for your fantasy team.

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Nico Collins

Ruled Out Late on Monday Night With Concussion
Nico Collins

Suffers Head Injury on Monday Night
Jahmyr Gibbs

Blows Up For 218 Total Yards, Two Touchdowns in Win
Mike Evans

to Miss Most of the Year With Broken Clavicle
Jalen Williams

Ruled Out for Season Opener
Brandon Woodruff

Expects to Be Ready for Opening Day
Mike Evans

Ruled Out Monday With Concussion, Shoulder Injury
Mike Evans

Making his Return in Primetime Against Detroit
Emeka Egbuka

Officially Active on Monday Night
Dereck Lively II

Mavericks Exercise Fourth-Year Option on Dereck Lively II
Patrik Laine

Remains Out Monday
Dyson Daniels

Agrees to Four-Year Rookie Contract Extension on Monday
Jared McCann

Out Against Flyers
Carson Soucy

Ready to Return Monday
Ja Morant

Expected to Suit Up Wednesday
Zach Bogosian

Unavailable Against Rangers
Marco Rossi

Misses Monday's Action
Shayne Gostisbehere

Sits Out Monday's Game
Christian Braun

Inks Contract Extension With Nuggets on Monday
Mark Stone

Out Week-to-Week
Michael Penix Jr.

Dealing With Bone Bruise in Foot, Considered Day-to-Day
Coby White

Ruled Out For First Two Weeks
Jayden Daniels

Avoids Long-Term Injury, Status Unknown for Week 8
Bilal Coulibaly

Ruled Out For Opener, Early Season Absence Expected
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Locked In As Starter For Rockets Opener
Jaylen Brown

Fully Cleared, Set To Lead Celtics In Season Opener
Tua Tagovailoa

Dolphins Sticking With Tua Tagovailoa as Their Starting QB
Josh Hart

Back Injury Puts Opening Night Status In Doubt
Daniel Gafford

Registers Limited Practice, Questionable for Opener
Brock Bowers

Expected Back After the Bye
Darren Waller

Week-to-Week Following MRI
Kendre Miller

Out for the Year After Suffering Torn ACL
Christian Braun

There's "Cautious Optimism" Around Christian Braun Signing Contract Extension
Bryce Young

Expected to Miss Week 8
Nikola Topić

Nikola Topic Has Third-Year Option Picked Up
Cason Wallace

Thunder Pick Up Fourth-Year Option for Cason Wallace
Brooklyn Nets

Nets Waive Kobe Bufkin
Justin Fields

to Lose Starting Job After Week 7 Benching?
Haywood Highsmith

Suffers Setback While Rehabbing Knee
Reinier de Ridder

Reinier De Ridder Suffers His First UFC Loss
Brendan Allen

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Kevin Holland

Drops Decision
Mike Malott

Wins Third Fight In A Row
Jordan Addison

Leads Minnesota With 128 Receiving Yards in Loss
Marlon Vera

Loses Third Consecutive Fight
Aiemann Zahabi

Gets A Razor-Thin Split Decision Win
Jasmine Jasudavicius

Suffers First-Round TKO Loss
Manon Fiorot

Gets Back In The Win Column
Ryan Donato

Leads Blackhawks to Victory Sunday
Tom Wilson

Registers Two Assists, Seven Hits Sunday
Conor Garland

Sends Out Two Assists Sunday
David Pastrnak

Pots Two Goals in Losing Effort
Davey Grant

Suffers Submission Loss
Emmitt Finnie

Notches Three Points Against Oilers
Dylan Larkin

Totals Four Points in Sunday's Win
Charles Jourdain

Gets First-Round Submission Win
Matt Frevola

Gets Dominated At UFC Vancouver
Matt Frevola

Kyle Nelson Dominates Matt Frevola
Josh Jacobs

Saves Fantasy Performance With Two Touchdowns Against Cardinals
Javonte Williams

Records Second 100-Yard Rushing Game in Week 7
Darren Waller

Suffers Pectoral Strain, Will Undergo MRI
Jake Ferguson

Scores Two TDs Despite Return of Top Dallas Receiver
Rashee Rice

Heavily Involved in Debut, Scores Two Touchdowns Against Raiders
Toumani Camara

Gets Four-Year Contract Extension from Portland
Shaedon Sharpe

Blazers Agree on a Contract Extension
Kevin Durant

Lands Two-Year Contract Extension with Houston
George Springer

Returns to Lineup for Game 6 of ALCS
Domantas Sabonis

to Miss at Least a Few Games, Will be Re-Evaluated in One Week
Spencer Knight

Takes on Ducks Sunday
Shakir Mukhamadullin

Sharks Place Shakir Mukhamadullin on Injured Reserve
Kasperi Kapanen

Exits With Injury Sunday
Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Suffers Injury Sunday
Filip Chytil

Injured on Sunday
Teddy Blueger

Hurt in Sunday's WIn
Jason Dickinson

Remains Out Sunday
CFB

Colorado State Fires Head Coach Jay Norvell After Four Seasons
CFB

Florida Fires Head Coach Billy Napier After Four Years
Nils Lundkvist

Expected to Miss Time
Chase Elliott

Can Chase Elliott Deliver Another Clutch Win to Make Championship 4?
William Byron

Seeks First Win at Talladega to Overcome Las Vegas Crash
Chase Briscoe

Likely to Finish Worse Than he Starts
Kyle Larson

Despite No Wins on Drafting Tracks, Kyle Larson is Improving
Tyler Reddick

Despite Winning at Talladega, Tyler Reddick's Drafting Record Is Not So Hot
Ross Chastain

Poor Qualifying Makes him a Strong DFS Option at Talladega
Chris Buescher

Excellent Crash Avoidance Could Reap Dividends at Talladega
Ty Gibbs

If Ty Gibbs' Team Executes a Better Strategy, he Could Win at Talladega
Daniel Suarez

Hopes for Clutch Talladega Win to Remain in the NASCAR Cup Series
Josh Berry

Might Contend at Talladega
Austin Dillon

Doesn't Lead Enough at Talladega to Contend for Wins
Rob Dillingham

Timberwolves Exercise Team Option on Rob Dillingham
Brendan Donovan

Undergoes Sports Hernia Surgery
George Springer

Exits Game 5 Early After HBP on his Knee
Jackson Chourio

Back in Game 4 Lineup Against Dodgers
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Has Bone Spurs Removed From his Elbow
Brendan Allen

Set For UFC Vancouver Main Event
Reinier de Ridder

Reinier De Ridder A Favorite At UFC Vancouver
Mike Malott

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Kevin Holland

Set For UFC Vancouver Co-Main Event
Aiemann Zahabi

Looks For His Seventh Consecutive Win
Marlon Vera

Returns At UFC Vancouver
Jasmine Jasudavicius

Looks To Extend Her Win Streak
Manon Fiorot

Looks To Bounce Back
Aoriqileng

Aori Aoriqileng Looks To Rebound
CFB

Curt Cignetti Signs Eight-Year, $11.6 Million Extension With Indiana
Carlos Rodón

Carlos Rodon Unlikely to Be Ready for Opening Day After Elbow Surgery
Anthony Santander

Removed From ALCS Roster With Back Injury
Jackson Chourio

Aggravates Hamstring, Pulled Early in Game 3 of NLCS
Aaron Judge

Will Not Need Elbow Surgery
Anthony Volpe

Won't be Ready for Start of Next Season
Gerrit Cole

Won't be Ready for Opening Day Next Year
CFB

Jermod McCoy Officially Out for Alabama Matchup
CFB

Jam Miller Questionable to Face Tennessee
CFB

Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt Probable For Saturday
Anthony Volpe

Undergoes Left-Shoulder Surgery
CFB

Jayden Gibson No Longer with Oklahoma Program

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP