X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

Philip Rivers to Colts: Fantasy Impact

After a wild first day of free agency, there were still a number of major dominos left to fall, especially at quarterback. Former Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was one of those veterans that was expected to be on the move after it was announced weeks ago that he and the team would be parting ways.

Rivers had long been a rumored target for the Indianapolis Colts and they landed him with a one-year contract that was worth $25 million. After a lackluster year from quarterback Jacoby Brissett, it became evident that they were interested in a more high-octane option. While Rivers will be a short-term rental, he will give their entire offense a bump in 2020.

Rivers didn't cost them any draft capital or players on their roster. With an overwhelming amount of cap space, giving him that hefty deal doesn't bog them down to continue to make moves this year. Indianapolis missed the playoffs last year, but they're hoping that Rivers is the type of quarterback that can bring them back. Could this inject life into his fantasy value after a disappointing final season with the Bolts?

 

Expectations for Rivers

Rivers was a great fantasy option for a number of years, but he ran into issues last season with turnovers. His touchdown to interception ratio was just 23:20 after keeping a near 3:1 ratio in the two prior seasons. One of the major reasons for Rivers' struggles was due to a poor offensive line. The Chargers dealt with injuries and poor draft picks which made them unable to keep him clean. After re-signing left tackle Anthony Castonzo, the Colts won't have the same problem.

Rivers has made his reputation as a gunslinger through volume. He has attempted at least 500 passes in every season since 2010. While Indy hit that mark last year, this team doesn't try to win with high-octane offense. They like to ride their stable of running backs and control the clock throughout the game. Similar to the way the Green Bay Packers were winning games last year, their quarterback was in charge of taking care of the ball while keeping the offense moving forward. That's what the Colts will be trying to do with Rivers in 2020-21.

I expect the Colts to take a step forward on defense with the offense getting a bump as well. As a result, I'd put Rivers somewhere in the QB12-15 range. He would give me confidence as a backup or streaming option, but I wouldn't want him as my weekly starter unless it was an extremely deep league. He finished as QB18 last season, and I think he's going to smash that mark next season.

 

Time for a T.Y. Hilton Bounceback

Prior to an injury last season, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton was on pace to be a top-10 receiver in fantasy. He was his team's clear top option, and he was showing a new nose for the end zone. Through his first five games of the season, he had 30 catches on 40 targets for 306 yards and five touchdowns. No one else on the team was coming even close to the numbers he was putting up. After his injury combined with Brissett's struggles, his season trajectory tanked.

Rivers' top target with the Chargers was wideout Keenan Allen, who finished with 260 or more PPR points in each of the last three seasons. Hilton is easily going to be that guy for Rivers with no other candidate on the roster. Hilton has improved his ability to work on the underneath routes over the past two seasons which will help as Rivers' arm continues to diminish.

After scoring five touchdowns through five games, Hilton scored zero over the final five. Allen had scored at least six in each of the past three seasons. Hilton will see somewhere north of 120 targets next season, and he still has the speed to turn in multiple big receptions that result in touchdowns. Unless Indianapolis adds another legit threat at wide receiver, which they could do in the draft, Hilton's stock is going to continue pointing all the way up.

 

Advertising

Nyheim Hines is Trending Upwards

Chargers running back Austin Ekeler saw 108 targets last season as his team's second running back. Colts running back Nyheim Hines isn't the receiver out of the backfield that Ekeler is, but I expect him to put up value on a weekly basis as Rivers uses him as an outlet. Against opponents with a big advantage or with an elite offense, it wouldn't stun me for him to finish as an RB1 in certain weeks.

In his two seasons, Hines has 107 receptions to his name, and he's caught 77.0% of the targets that have been thrown his way. The Colts don't have a ton of proven receiving threats, but Hines is one of them. He gives the new quarterback a bailout option when none of his other targets are open, but they can also get more experimental with how they use Hines. He can create mismatches out of the backfield, and head coach Frank Reich will take advantage of that.

I would still expect running back Marlon Mack to be this team's lead running back, but I think Hines is going to bring more scoring than we've seen from him in the previous two seasons. Similar to how the Chargers deployed their two running backs, we could see the Colts utilize that to keep each of them fresh throughout the season. Additionally, Mack has yet to play 16 games in a season in his career, so Hines is just one injury away from becoming a starting running back in a good offense.

More Fantasy Football Analysis




LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF