Fantasy Football: 8 Late-Round Lottery Tickets for 2017
Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Average Draft Position: 13.02 (RB55)
By this point, everyone knows August is "This is the year Frank Gore finally slips" month. Every year, fresh blood comes in, and every year, Gore continues to produce at a competent pace.
So, why, exactly, are we bothering to talk about Marlon Mack? It has very little to do with Gore himself. It's more about the real estate he occupies as the top back in the Indianapolis Colts' offense.
If we're looking for a lottery-esque player this late in the draft, we need one who's attached to a high-scoring offense. The Colts were eighth in points scored last year, and if Andrew Luck's able to get healthy, they've got the potential to finish even higher.
This means that if Mack can carve out a role, he could have major touchdown potential. And things seem to be trending in that direction.
Chuck Pagano on rookie RB Marlon Mack. (Side note: Pagano rarely heaps praise on rookies like this) pic.twitter.com/uGOD5svz4a
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 4, 2017
Based on head coach Chuck Pagano's words there, it would seem that Mack has a chance to have stand-alone value as a pass-catching back on third down from the jump. Then, if anything happens to Gore, even more opportunity could be for the taking. Mack's potential role in the passing game makes him worth his ADP all by itself, but the upsides involved in the "what if?" scenarios make him the exact type of player we should target here.
