A spate of injuries proved him wrong.When the Indianapolis Colts returned to practice Saturday http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/mike-adams-jersey-authentic , the running back took a quick glance around the field and suddenly realized only three other people were around — rookie Nyheim Hines, veteran Christine Michael and former NFL star Tom Rathman, who now serves as the Indianapolis Colts' running backs coach.Of course, it's not an ideal work environment, but right now the Colts don't have a choice."Rookie mini-camp, it happened real quick and we were struggling through that," Wilkins said, recalling the last time he worked with such a small group of backs. "It kind of sucks that we're back at that point. It is more of a workload, but I'm not worried about that."Instead, the fifth-round draft pick sees it as an opportunity to show the Colts they found a value pick and a potential workhorse.He's not the only trying to prove his worth.Hines, a fourth-round pick, hopes to change the coaches' perception after struggling in the preseason opener. Michael is trying to find a more stable home on his fifth team in six seasons and after missing all of last year with an offseason knee injury.And, at the moment, it remains unclear whether help may be on the way.How did the Colts find themselves in such a predicament?Marlon Mack, the hand-picked successor to Frank Gore, left Thursday's game with a hamstring injury and is listed as week to week. Backup Robert Turbin also left the game with an ankle injury and he, too, is considered week to week. Josh Ferguson, a backup each of the past two seasons, still hasn't returned to practice since hurting his hamstring on the third day of training camp.Reich said Ferguson could return this week."You don't like just having three guys," coach Frank Reich said when asked if Indy needs another body. "But we've got a couple of guys dinged, so we'll have to see how things play out."Fortunately, Wilkins seems well-suited to carry a big workload.Listed at 6-foot-1 Womens Torrey Smith Jersey , 216 pounds, he became the fifth player in Ole Miss history to top the 1,000-yard mark with his breakout 2017 season. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry, demonstrated an ability to catch passes out of the backfield and convinced the Colts to take him in the fifth round.So far, he's outperformed the expectations.On Thursday, he rushed six times for 21 yards, caught one pass for seven yards and sealed the 19-17 victory by spinning away from a Seattle defender for a 3-yard run on third-and-1. Reich called it a winning play Friday, shortly after announcing the injuries to Mack and Turbin.Hines is a different kind of player. At 5-9, 198 pounds, he possesses sprinter speed and can line up in multiple spots.Reich, who served as Philadelphia's offensive coordinator last year, envisions Hines playing the same kind of role as Darren Sproles and he has a similar resume.At North Carolina State, Hines was both a receiver and punt returner and was called into emergency duty as a running back, too."My freshmen year I played receiver and we had some redshirt guys and literally all four running backs were hurt except for one, so I had to go play running back and there were two guys in the game," Hines said. "That was a really interesting bowl game for us."Michael was solid in the Colts' preseason opener and could start next Monday night against Baltimore.But unless, general manager Chris Ballard makes a move or Ferguson gets healthy, these three backs will have to do the Colts' heavy lifting."That's the goal to be the starter, but that's up to the coaches and it's out of my control," Wilkins said. "Whatever role I'm given, I'll be excited about and will play to my highest ability."Notes: The Colts signed defensive end Ryan Delaire and released safety Shamarko Thomas, who was ejected from Thursday's game for an illegal hit. ... Andrew Luck did not participate in Saturday's light workout — as planned. He is expected to return to the field Sunday. ... Starting safeties Clayton Geathers and Malik Hooker took part in team drills Saturday when the Colts were not in pads. Both are coming off of knee surgery. The NFL Draft is all about guessing and prediction, and now that the season has ended with another disappointing Super Bowl matchup Womens Shaq Thompson Jersey , we are going to start predicting and prognosticating the hell out of it. Part of doing that is analyzing the Carolina Panthers needs and seeing how they line up with general manager Marty Hurney’s draft history.To assist in giving Hurney an overall grade for how he has done drafting over the years, I’ve come up with a simple point system that grades each selection on two criteria.Player Quality: Zero to six scale. Six points for a franchise cornerstone/hall of fame grade player, five for an excellent starter, four for a good starter, three for an average starter, two for quality depth/rotational player, one for depth, zero for a total non-contributing bust.Pick Importance: Negative two to one scale. Negative two for first round picks, negative one for second and third round picks, zero for fourth and fifth rounders, and one point for anything beyond that. The logic here is that in the first round you need to at least grab an average starter to get a positive score, while ideally you should be getting someone great. Meanwhile in the late rounds, most prospects never become anything of note, so you aren’t penalized for that.For scaling purposes, using this system Luke Kuechly (6 + -2) and Kawann Short (5 + -1) would both be a four, a guy like Tom Brady (6 + 1) would be a super rare seven, and Captain Munnerlyn (2 + 1) would be a three.It is VERY IMPORTANT to note, these are not grades of individual players, but rather the value of the draft picks used to obtain them. This system expects you to do well with your early picks, while rewarding the occasional late round gem. This system does NOT attempt to factor in trade up or down scenarios, simply what became of the player based on when they were picked.As an example, here is the breakdown of Marty Hurney’s final draft class before he originally was terminated in 2012.Round 1 (9): Luke Kuechly, ILB Womens Dontari Poe Jersey , Boston College. (6 + -2 = 4)As an example, Luke Kuechly is inarguably a franchise cornerstone and is awarded the maximum value of six points. He was selected in the first round, which carries a weight of -2 points because you are expected to get a good player with those picks. This makes the total score a four, because you nailed a pick you should nail.Round 2 (40): Amini Silatolu, OG, Midwestern State (1 + -1 = 0)As a further example, missing with a high pick really hurts you. Amini Silatolu has never even come close to living up to his draft billing, and is simply depth (and not good depth at that). His player quality score is just a one, and it’s cancelled out by his second round selection, essentially making him a bust.Round 4 (103): Frank Alexander, DE, Oklahoma (2 + 0 = 2)Round 4 (104): Joe Adams, WR, Arkansas (0 + 0 = 0)Round 5 (143): Josh Norman, CB, Coastal Carolina (4 + 0 = 4)Round 6 (207): Brad Nortman, P, Wisconsin (3 + 1 = 4)Round 7 (216): D.J. Campbell, FS, California (0 + 1 = 1)Final Draft score is 15 divided by 7 which equals 2.14. An average draft that could have been great without a massive bust in the second round.Hurney’s very average 2012 NFL DraftLook for position specific articles that analyze Marty Hurney over a long period of time coming up in the next few weeks as our offseason coverage begins in earnest here on CSR.