5 NFL Red Zone Trends to Monitor for Week 8

Keep an Eye on Marlon Mack

The Indianapolis Colts' backfield situation has been an absolute mess from a fantasy standpoint this year.

Thanks to a hamstring injury, Marlon Mack only played in one game from Weeks 1 to 5, but he returned in full in Week 6, and between that and Week 7, he looks to be emerging as the team's top back.

He has notched 36 total opportunities in those 2 games, and he played 56% of the team's offensive snaps in Week 7. For our purposes, it's what he has done near the goal line that is most interesting though.

In Week 6, the Colts racked up 13 red zone opportunities as a team, and Mack saw a team-high 4 (30.8%) of those. In Week 7, Mack saw his opportunities climb to 5, even though the team's total fell to 10, giving him a 50% market share.

That was the first time all season that a Colts player handled 50% of their red zone opportunities, and the first time one of their players notched 5 in a game.

Despite playing in only 3 games, Mack's 11 red zone rushes are the team-high by a big margin (next-most is 6), while his 12 opportunities rank 2nd on the team. If you're trying to find touchdown upside in the Colts' backfield, Mack is the one you want to target.