Nyheim Hines has a lot of versatility. He caught 89 passes during his three years at NC State, playing his freshman season at wide receiver. He then ran the ball 197 times for over 1,100 yards in 2017, flashing big-play ability while lining up all over the field. He then crushed the NFL Combine, running a 4.38 40 at 198 pounds.
In case you missed it, he's now on the Colts. And the Colts have some openings.
On the ground, Hines will compete with Marlon Mack and fellow rookie Jordan Wilkins for touches. Mack suffered through a shoulder injury last year, but even still, his production wasn't what we'd call "great." Among backs with 50 or more carries last season (there were 72 of them), Mack ranked second-worst in percentage of runs that went for zero or fewer yards, and he was 11th-worst in percentage of runs that went two or fewer yards. Meanwhile, his teammate, Frank Gore, ranked 17th-best in both categories.
Wilkins is an interesting wild card in the backfield, as he had one of the most efficient per-rush rates among all running back prospects entering the draft. But he's not some experienced bell-cow runner, having carried the ball just 279 total times across his three collegiate seasons.
Needless to say, the Colts' backfield is one that will probably be committee focused, giving Hines some touches. And the Colts have said as much this offseason.
Hines' potential will come via the passing game.
Immediately after Hines was drafted, Colts coach Frank Reich noted that he'd be moving Hines all over the field in the Colts offense. That's not a surprise given Hines' skill set, but we can't ignore the type of opportunity that could bring. The Colts currently have Ryan Grant, Chester Rogers, and some rookies (it sounds like Deon Cain is the one we should be watching) battling it out for the number-two receiving gig in that offense. They've got two capable pass-catchers at tight end in Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle, but an Andrew Luck-led offense has never seen the tight end position with a target share higher than 26%. And T.Y. Hilton, their known stud, has never had a target share higher than 26.54% in a single season.
That means about half of the Colts targets this year are going to be directed at mostly unproven commodities. If Hines can grab hold of a chunk of those while being part of the team's running back committee, he's got a good shot to outperform his average draft position, especially in PPR formats.