Jordan Todman

Todman signed with the Colts after spending last year in Pittsburgh, where he got just four carries for 22 yards during the regular season, but then took 16 totes for 71 yards in two playoff games while both Le'Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams were sidelined by injuries. A former sixth-round draft pick (2011), the 26-year-old Todman now figures to compete with Robert Turbin, Trey Williams, Tyler Varga and Josh Ferguson for slotting behind returning starter Frank Gore, who will likely cede passing-down work to one of his backups. Todman and Turbin both filled similar roles with other teams in previous years, but the latter also has a feature-back build (5-10, 220 pounds) working in his favor, whereas Todman checks in at just 5-9, 200 pounds. If Gore is injured, Todman would likely be limited to a complementary role.

An undersized back whose merely adequate receiving skills limit his utility on third downs, Todman's burst and vision have allowed him to survive running between the tackles, and he has enough speed and elusiveness in open space to pick up yards if he does get free, but none of his skills would seem to indicate he could make an impact if he fell into a starting gig.

Speedy but undersized, Todman has so far proved more useful as a kick returner than a running back. Last year's increased workload yielded just a 3.4 YPC, and he was only moderately useful in the passing game as Maurice Jones-Drew's backup. A huge Week 15 performance – 25 carries for 109 yards and four catches for another 44 – put him on the radar and is a large part of why he's the favorite to back up new starter Toby Gerhart this year, but he averaged just 2.9 YPC outside of that contest against the woeful Bills defense. Generally speaking, the Jags' weak offensive line isn't going to open up big holes for Todman when he does get his chances, and he may even end up losing the backup role to Denard Robinson.

Reserve running back.

Todman will battle Lex Hilliard for the No. 3 running back role, which could have some fantasy relevance if Adrian Peterson isn't ready to begin the regular season while recovering from a torn ACL.

Todman will be the number three running back on the depth in San Diego, behind Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert. However, if Mathews were to get injured, Todman would get plenty of work since he is more of a pure running back than the bruising Tolbert. The guess is that the Bolts would prefer to give Todman the majority of the carries in that scenario, as long as he picks up the offense and blocking schemes quickly. There's no question that Todman was a very good back in college as he posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at Connecticut and was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year in 2010.