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What to do with Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines in Week 12 fantasy football

We go over the fantasy football outlook of Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines ahead of the Colts Week 12 matchup against the Titans.

By L Truscott Updated
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) runs the ball in the second half against the Green Bay Packers at Lucas Oil Stadium.  Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Game day update: It will be the Nyheim Hines’ show going forward with rookie Jonathan Taylor on the Covid-19 IR list. The dynamic Hines has been a boom or bust option in fantasy football this season, but is capable of scoring in multiple ways. In his last three games, Hines has scored 3.8, 23.5, and 5.3 fantasy points.

On Sunday, he’s going up against a Titans’ defense that is only allowing 14.6 fantasy points per game to running backs, but has given up 23 and 20 fantasy points in their last two games. ESPN projects Hines to score 11.6 fantasy points.

Saturday update: The Colts have placed Jonathan Taylor on the Covid-19 injured reserve list. Nyheim Hines will be the team’s starting running back, and Jordan Wilkins should get a bump in work. Hines is a strong start, while Wilkins is worth a bench stash for now.

Another week, another guessing game to figure out which of the two Indianapolis Colts running backs will be the more production option in fantasy football. Last week, it was Jonathan Taylor, despite Nyheim Hines coming off a big game the week before. But that big game happened to come against the Titans.

Fantasy Football analysis: Colts RBs Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines

Taylor had 22 carries for 90 yards last week against the Packers. That effort came a week after he had a measly 12 yards on seven carries. Hines had two yards on six carries last week, a week after a game with 70 rushing yards, 31 receiving yards, and a pair of touchdowns against the Titans.

Hines still gets and edge in the passing game, but the Colts ground game is clearly designed to frustrate fantasy owners. The Titans have given up some big games to running backs this season, which gives both some fantasy relevance this week. For now, consider Taylor a slightly better choice of the two, a RB2 to Hines’ RB3, with the potential for both players to disappear from the stat sheet.

Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation

Start Jonathan Taylor at RB2 and Nyheim Hines at RB3.

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