Meet Marlon Mack: Colts RB of the future?
INDIANAPOLIS – Labeled by at least one colleague as “the biggest grinder in the league,” Jamie Moore lives the side of football few ever see. Long drives. Nights in forgettable hotel rooms. Hundreds upon hundreds of prospects he’ll watch, evaluate, then end up crossing off his list.
Moore is the Indianapolis Colts’ southeast area scout. He’s based in Jacksonville, Fla., in enemy territory, 900 miles south of where the team he works for calls home. He’s on his third boss with the Colts. He survived Bill Polian’s firing in 2011. He survived Ryan Grigson’s firing in January. The new guy, Chris Ballard, tells his scouts they’re the “eyes and ears of our organization.” Moore takes that seriously.
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, a future draft pick comes out of nowhere. Moore knows.
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He was on the road one day two years ago, driving, listening to Sirius XM radio, hearing about a freshman running back he had to see. This coach, Willie Taggart, was going on and on about how unique this kid was. He went for 275 yards in his first game in college. He was so talented the coach wanted to put him on defense. On and on and on he went ...
Two years later, on Saturday afternoon, Moore made his final pitch to Ballard in the Colts’ war room.
Not long after, Marlon Mack got a phone call.
“I knew the Colts loved me,” the South Florida running back said.
And the reason the Colts loved Marlon Mack? Jamie Moore. He’d been watching Mack play for two seasons, watching him pile up more than 2,500 yards, a sterling 6.7-per-carry average and 23 touchdowns during that span. The scouting paid off. Now, Moore and the Colts hope the prospect does.
Ballard’s Colts filled their need for a young running back Saturday, grabbing Mack with the 143rd pick in the fourth round of the NFL draft; all told, he’s one of just two offensive players drafted by the Colts this weekend, joining another fourth-rounder, USC tackle Zach Banner.
Before Mack got the call, there was a debate in the war room over which running back to take.
“At the end of the day, we went with Marlon because of the speed, and the explosive play-making ability,” Ballard said Saturday evening.
Mack instantly offers the Colts one-dimensional offense something it’s long craved: big-play potential from the run game. Frank Gore has been superb in two seasons — scraping out every yard he could behind the Colts’ inconsistent and often underperforming line — but the backfield has undeniably lacked sizzle. The team generated only four runs of 20 yards or longer in 2016. That’s good enough for dead last in the NFL.
Want explosion? Six of Mack’s 15 rushing touchdowns last season went for 43 yards or more. That’s exactly what the Colts need.
“He can flip the field,” Moore said. “And he can create chunk plays.”
Plus, Gore is 34. Mack could be the future.
He can learn from Gore, the man who sits eighth all-time on the NFL’s rushing list at the moment and could climb to as high as fourth with another 1,000-yard campaign.
“Frank Gore is one of the great running backs in this league right now,” Mack said. “And coming in I’ll be able to learn from him, and it’ll be a competition coming in.”
Mack further bolsters a running back room that includes Gore, who became the first Colts’ running back to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season in nine years, bruising red zone finisher Robert Turbin, who’s back on a two-year deal, and Josh Ferguson, a second-year player who struggled in 2016. Not expected to be an every-down back right away, Mack nonetheless owns the skillset that can open up the playbook. Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzisnki won’t have any trouble finding ways to use him.
Playing no small role in Mack’s enthusiasm for Saturday’s news: the quarterback he’ll soon take handoffs from. Every running back wants to play with Andrew Luck.
“I’m glad I’m coming to Indy because they got a great quarterback,” he said. “Big blue’s one of the best teams coming in. I loved that field (at Lucas Oil Stadium). It was a great turf. I’m just happy I got picked and I’m ready to come to work.”
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Originally a UCLA commit who decided to stay close to home after a coaching change for the Bruins, Mack became South Florida’s all-time leading rusher and first three-time all-conference selection. He’s described, by some scouts, as everything Gore isn’t — the splash to Gore’s stability.
About time the Colts’ running back room had both.
“I see myself as an all-around back” Mack said. “Wherever the team needs me, I’ll come in and help. Whatever they need me to do, I’m coming in to help and help the best way I can.”
Saturday was the day that makes it all worth it for guys like Jamie Moore, the scouts who log the miles on the road, the nights in hotel rooms, chasing a player he first heard about on the radio. All the scouting? It paid off. His boss trusted him. Marlon Mack is a Colt.
Time to see if the scout was right.
“Just turn on the tape,” Moore added. “And the guy lights it up.”
Call IndyStar reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134. Follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.