Marlon Mack Injury Update Boosts Jonathan Williams, Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins Fantasy Outlook

After making an early exit from Sunday's matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Marlon Mack was immediately expected to miss at least one game after suffering a broken hand.

Well, he underwent surgery on the hand on Monday, confirming that this will be a multi-week absence for the Indianapolis Colts' running back, opening the door for Nyheim Hines, Jonathan Williams and Jordan Wilkins to all have improved fantasy outlooks moving forward.

Mack has been a true workhorse for the Colts, a team that has been the NFL's fourth-most run-heavy team in 2019, averaging 19.8 carries per game before his injury-shortened Week 11 outing. He still racked up 14 carries before exiting, and Williams immediately stepped in to fill the void with 14 carries of his own.

Wilkins has been ahead of Williams on the Colts' depth chart this season, recording 27 carries to Williams' two before Mack went down, however an ankle injury forced Wilkins to sit out last week's game. He will likely return ahead of Williams in the pecking order in the Indianapolis ground game, though such a run-heavy offense could have enough volume for both to see work.

Hines' role should change the least, as he works primarily in the team's passing game, averaging 4.0 targets to just 2.5 rush attempts per game on the year. He can still be expected to pick up some slack on the ground though, giving his value a slight boost as well.

If Wilkins joins Mack on the shelf in Week 12 then Williams will have some workhorse potential, and both he and Hines will be viable options, both ranking in the top 36 at RB in our Week 12 PPR fantasy football rankings.

However, Wilkins' return could really cloud things. If he and Williams split the rushing work evenly and Hines doesn't see a big increase in touches, this could prove to be a messy three-headed committee, which would leave none of the trio offering consistent fantasy value.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the situation, all three backs can be considered Week 12 waiver wire pickups. But a wait-and-see approach is likely the best move for any of their current and future fantasy owners.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.