Colts running back Jonathan Taylor had some powerful comments about injured teammate Marlon Mack.
The Indianapolis Colts’ upcoming matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend has many fans recalling their humbling season-opening loss to them, which really looms large when you consider that they now need help from other teams in order to qualify for the playoffs.
Perhaps the biggest storyline in the aftermath of that game was the loss of Marlon Mack, who went down for the year with a torn Achilles. Though the Colts were able to pick up wins without him, his absence shortly proved his overall value to the offense as Jonathan Taylor struggled mightily after assuming No. 1 duties.
It quickly became evident that not having Mack around the facility had a negative impact on Taylor and he had some eye-opening comments about how devastating it was hearing that his contract year was over before it really even started.
Asked Colts rookie RB Jonathan Taylor what his hardest moment of this season was, and his answer speaks to the type of player he is.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) December 31, 2020
"Watching Marlon Mack go down in Week 1," Taylor said, "knowing what he'd put into the year."
As if fans in Indianapolis needed any more reason to fall in love with Taylor, right?
It stinks admitting this, but Mack’s injury was almost a blessing in disguise for Taylor (and the Colts). After all, handling the majority of the carries allowed him to confront his rookie wall head on and overcome it just in time for the stretch run.
Over the last five games, the 2020 second-round pick is averaging 97.6 rushing yards per game on an impressive 5.6 yards per attempt. To put his emergence into perspective, his 488 yards during that stretch is 60 more than what he compiled across the first nine games combined.
For Taylor to admit that watching Mack limp off the field and ultimately be told that his year was over was the toughest moment of this season when it really paved the way for him to become a workhorse proves just how much of a team player he is. What more could the Colts want from their supposed running back of the future?
The future is now at running back for the #Colts.
— Andrew Walker (@AWalkerColts) September 15, 2020
Rookie Jonathan Taylor is set to be the starting RB moving forward after a season-ending Achilles injury suffered by veteran Marlon Mack:https://t.co/FEpRt4jAez
We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but comments as powerful as these indicate that the Wisconsin product, if everything falls into place, has the requisite qualities to become a team captain down the road.
In the meantime, however, let’s hope that Taylor does right by Mack and goes out and absolutely pummels the Jaguars on Sunday.
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