Colts: 3 big overreactions to Week 2 win over Vikings
By Jerry Trotta
1. Jonathan Taylor is Ready to Be Three-Down RB
Colts rookie RB Jonathan Taylor turned a lot of heads with his performance against the Vikings.
Fans in Indianapolis held their collective breath in the second quarter of Week 1 when starting running back Marlon Mack went down with what was ultimately determined to be a season-ending Achilles injury.
Though the presence of Jonathan Taylor undoubtedly softened that blow, there were concerns about whether the 2020 second-round pick was capable of handling a full NFL workload as a rookie. Following his huge two-touchdown performance against Jacksonville, it was widely anticipated that Nyheim Hines would split carries with Taylor.
However, that was anything but the case in Week 2, as Taylor was the literal definition of a workhorse versus Minnesota, taking 26 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. Those are superb numbers, but they truly don’t even begin to do justice to how elusive and bruising the Wisconsin product looked on Sunday.
Taylor smelled an opportunity to seize No. 1 RB duties and he jumped all over it. Hines, meanwhile, was a legitimate afterthought of the offensive game plan, as he failed to receive a single carry and managed just one reception for four yards in the passing game. We would obviously like to see Hines more heavily involved moving forward, but Taylor’s performance against Minnesota proved that he’s more than ready to be a three-down back in Year 1.
