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INDIANAPOLIS – The big plays were a massive reason why the Colts took Nyheim Hines with a 2018 draft pick.
In Hines’ senior season at North Carolina State, the do-it all skill player had touchdown runs of 83, 53, 50 and 48 yards.
While Hines was very reliable for the Colts in his rookie season, and his head coach took note of that, something was missing.
“Honestly, I’d like to have more bigger plays, some 50, 60-yard plays that end up in touchdowns,” Hines says of his goal going into Year Two.
“That’s something I didn’t do last year.”
Again, Hines gave the Colts some nice versatility in his rookie campaign, but the really big plays were not there.
Hines’ longest rush was 18 yards. A total of 131 players in the NFL last year had a longer rush.
Hines’ longest reception was 28 yards. Some 218 guys in the NFL had a longer catch last year.
Just one rush of more than 15 yards and one reception of more than 25 yards for Hines last season has him wanting to be a more explosive playmaker, with a single touch, in 2019.
Coming into 2019, Hines has a lofty goal of 1,000 yards from scrimmage (he had 739 scrimmage yards last year).
That will be difficult to achieve, given the reinforcements the Colts have added at the skill group this season.
The arrival of Parris Campbell, particularly, could limit how much the Colts use Hines in the slot this season. Hines caught 63 balls, the third most of any NFL rookie, last season.
How exactly Hines’ role plays out in 2019 should be decided in the next month or so and will be adjusted throughout the regular season.
One thing Hines is assured of right now, his mental mindset is in a much better place than it was going into his rookie Training Camp.
“I was all over the place last year,” Hines admits.
“This year, I find a sense of comfort of being uncomfortable. You don’t know what’s going to happen, you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen with the depth chart, your body and the games. I know a lot more of what to expect this year and what to do.”
