Jonathan Taylor ranked as the most valuable non-quarterback in the NFL

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was recently ranked as the most valuable non-quarterback in the NFL. 

When thinking about the league’s Most Valuable Player award, everyone will immediately jump to the league’s best quarterback of that season. While, that is mostly true in today’s NFL with the position being the most valuable, there are a ton of players that can fall into that list and should be considered.

Recently on Fox Sports, Marcellus Wiley and Emmanuel Acho discuss the top-five players outside of the quarterback position and shared their picks for who is the most valuable.

Many of the players discussed can easily be considered top-tier talents in the NFL. In fact, many won an award in this past year’s award ceremony.

Acho and Wiley rank the top five players

There was not one single ranking that the two agreed on when it came to picking their top five players. In fact, only one player made both of their lists.

Aaron Donald was a unanimous top-five player, coming in third on Acho’s list and first on Wiley’s list. Considering Donald was a major factor in the Super Bowl win for the Los Angeles Rams and is a consistent Defensive Player of the Year candidate, this makes a lot of sense.

Others that made that list included Ja’Marr Chase, Mark Andrews, Trent Williams, Travis Kelce, Myles Garrett, Trevon Diggs, and T.J. Watt.

Then there was the running back for the Indianapolis Colts at number one for Emmanuel Acho, Jonathan Taylor.

"“Eighteen-hundred yards, eight-consecutive games with 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, an NFL record, he tied that. More than anything, they were 9-1 when he rushed for over 100 yards.”"

The one game that the Colts lost when Taylor ran for over 100 yards was the only time in his career that had happened, including his rookie season. This is similar to when Edgerrin James was running the ball for Indianapolis.

Jonathan Taylor’s 2021 season

During a full season of running the ball, Jonathan Taylor carried it 332 times for a total of 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns. That’s 5.5 yards per attempt! This doesn’t even include his numbers in the air, which brought his all-purpose yards over 2,000.

The league is generally owned by highlights of amazing catches, but when you watch Taylor break a long run, there is no catching him because of his speed.

These aspects of his game combined with an upward trajectory land Taylor at the top of many fantasy draft boards, making him one of the most valuable picks out there.

The Colts have something special with a young running back that earned his first Pro Bowl nod and First-Team All-Pro honors in his second season.

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