Seth McGowan—a physical 6-foot, 223-pound back—is pushing the underwhelming DJ Giddens to capture the up-for-grabs RB2 role behind Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis. While Taylor commands a workhorse Opportunity Share, winning this backup job turns McGowan into an immediate high-upside handcuffs option.
While McGowan struggled to find his footing at the college level, his raw ability is on-display at the professional level. Preseason touch distribution could point to McGowan earning meaningful snaps in this offense. McGowan is worth stashing in fantasy football dynasty leagues based on contingent value alone.
A seventh-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Indianapolis ...
Indianapolis Colts running back Seth McGowan rushed for 20 ...
Indianapolis Colts rookie running back Seth McGowan started...
Jonathan Taylor was an absolute blender through the first ten weeks of last season, racking up 1,139 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns before a Daniel Jones Achilles tear sent the Colts’ offense into a tailspin. With Jones coming off a major injury and Michael Pittman now in Pittsburgh, Taylor will be running into stacked boxes in 2026.
Taylor is 27 years old, entering the final year of his contract, and Indy has to decide if they want to pay a running back a third massive contract. Remember, the last negotiation between Chris Ballard and Taylor got incredibly icy, and Taylor now has 1761 career touches on his tires. If the Colts stumble out of the gate and sense that a rebuild necessary, they could see Taylor as a valuable trade asset.
Solak points out that the Chicago Bears make almost too much sense as a landing spot, because while D’Andre Swift is an adequate primary back, Taylor is the true, volume-heavy RB1 who would hyper-charge an ascending Caleb Williams offense.
Despite DJ Giddens‘ draft capital and incumbency, reports surprisingly suggest that Seth McGowan could challenge for the immediate backup role behind Jonathan Taylor. While neither player holds standalone value, they remain intriguing contingency stashes in deeper leagues in the event of a Taylor injury.
The bottom line is Giddens was a more prolific and athletic prospect, and McGowan had a tumultuous college career. Stashing Giddens should be prioritized over McGowan in fantasy football dynasty leagues.
The Indianapolis Colts selected Seth McGowan, a 223-pound back who pairs a scorched-earth 109.7 Speed Score (67th-percentile) with a massive 42.5-inch vertical (98th-percentile). McGowan found success against SEC competition with 12 rushing touchdowns and a solid 28.0% College Dominator Rating.
In dynasty formats, McGowan should be viewed as a potential elite handcuff to Jonathan Taylor, as he will compete with DJ Giddens for the backup role.
