Jonathan Taylor is a starting running back for the Indianapolis Colts. Taylor spent three seasons at the University of Wisconsin before entering the 2020 NFL Draft. In each of his three collegiate seasons, he exceeded 2000 yards from scrimmage and was leaned on heavily by the Badger coaching staff. The concerns for Taylor entering the NFL Draft were his high-volume usage (300-plus touches in all three collegiate seasons) and the lack of passing game usage for most of his career.
The Colts looked past these concerns and traded up in the NFL Draft to select the 5-10, 226-pound Taylor after he ran a 4.39 (97th-percentile) 40-Yard Dash to complement his 41.8-percent College Dominator Rating (93rd-percentile) at Wisconsin. Concerns about his ability in the passing game were addressed in his first career game when he caught six passes on 12 routes run. In Week 2, he logged 28 total touches for 110 yards and a touchdown. The next eight weeks, however, Taylor hardly exceeded a 50-percent Snap Share with pass-catching specialist Nyheim Hines evaporating Taylor’s opportunities in the passing game. From weeks 8 to 10, Taylor played less than one-third of the team’s snaps.
Taylor finally took over the majority of the share of the backfield in Week 11 of his 2020 rookie season. Over his final six games, he would finish with a top-15 performance in every single week, including three top-5 and two top-12 performances. Taylor finished his rookie season top-10 in Evaded Tackles (64) and Breakaway Runs (14). He also finished in the top-5 in rushing yards (1169) and total touchdowns (12).
In 2021, Taylor shook off his slow start in the first three weeks of the season to put up over 100 yards from scrimmage in 12 of his final 14 games. In the two games when he missed the century mark, he finished with 97 and 95 yards. During his breakout campaign in 2021, he topped 200 yards from scrimmage twice in a three-week span (Weeks 9-11). Taylor led the NFL in carries (332), rushing yards (1811), and touchdowns (20) in his sophomore season. From an efficiency standpoint, he was otherworldly. He lead the NFL in Evaded Tackles (165), Breakaway Runs (23), and Yards Created (1382). Taylor averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry in each of his first two seasons and scored 32 touchdowns in 32 games.
After such a long stretch of durability, Taylor's 2022 production was slowed by injury. He missed time during two different stretches with ankle injuries. The Colts' offense was one of the worst in the league, helmed by an aging Matt Ryan. Frank Reich was fired mid-season and replaced by Jeff Saturday, whose coaching inexperience was apparent. It was a lost season for the Colts. Taylor put up 78.3 yards per contest on just more than 17 carries despite. The Colts drafted Anthony Richardson in the 2023 draft and enter the season with a new head coach in Shane Steichen. Taylor asked for a trade heading into training camp in 2022. If he and the Colts' front office can settle their differences, Taylor will be an integral part of a new-look Colts' offense.
