Jonathan Taylor vs. Nyheim Hines: Taylor Continues to Dominate Backfield Work

Nyheim Hines has seen his role in the Colts’ backfield dwindle in recent games. The issue for Hines is not just his performance, but also how well Jonathan Taylor has been doing with increased touches. 

This should come as little surprise to anyone who follows the Colts closely, however, as Taylor has been outpacing Hines easily since the beginning of last season. While most expected Taylor to cut into Hines’ touches, things have been looking bleak for the latters’ usage. 

Hines started the season with two games out of three that could be considered “strong” for a player of his caliber and usage. In those first games, Hines totaled 16 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown. Those three games also saw Hines quite involved in the passing game, catching 12 balls off 16 targets for an additional 119 yards. 

Taylor, Meanwhile, had a rather uninspired start to the season in comparison. In the same three games, Taylor did rush for 171 yards but it took him 42 carries to get there. He also failed to see the end zone. Taylor has used in the passing game those first three games, but, he only managed eight receptions for 80 yards. 60 of those yards came in Week 1 where he was targeted seven times against the Seahawks. 

However, since Week 4, Taylor has woken up while Hines has faded away to the point where he was barely used in some weeks.

Week 4 against the Dolphins, for example, saw Hines total just two carries for six hards and two catches for five yards. Taylor, in that same matchup, saw 16 carries and ran for 103 yards and a touchdown. He added three catches on three targets for 11 yards. Since that game, Taylor has run for more than 100 yards in two of three games.

The only game where he failed to reach 100 yards rushing since Week 4, Taylor made up for it by catching three passes for 116 yards and a touchdown to go along with 53 yards rushing and a second TD. 

Over the last three weeks, Hines has seen his usage remain consistent, averaging 5.3 carries per game, but the results have been sub-par, to say the least. Hines has a total of 45 yards in those three games rushing and seven yards through the air.

Last week against the 49ers, he caught just one ball for a two-yard loss and averaged 1.8 yards per carry on the ground. This, on a day where his team scored 30 points. He did no favors to himself by dropping what could have been an easy 15-yard gain and ended up on the field for just 19 of the team’s 68 offensive snaps. 

Hines should continue to be a small part of the game plan for the Colts moving forward unless they are playing from way behind and are forced to use Hines’ skills in the passing game. He hasn’t seen more than 10 total touches since Week 3 and those numbers continue to shrink.