The Indianapolis Colts have a special talent in Jonathan Taylor, but he is willing to take a backseat if it means the team will win more.
Last season, Jonathan Taylor had a breakout year and established himself as one of the two best running backs in the NFL, if not No. 1. He was the offense for the Indianapolis Colts last season, and with the help of the offensive line, Taylor rushed to multiple victories for the Colts.
As a result, he finished the season leading the league in carries with 332, rushing yards at 1,811, and touchdowns with 18. Taylor was also able to pick up several records along the way and cement his name in history despite it only being his second season in the NFL.
Now, everyone is ready to see what Taylor has in store for year three. What kind of encore performance will he put on? Will he rush for 2,000 yards? Will he put his name next to any more records? He certainly has the talent to do anything. However, fans shouldn’t expect a record-shattering year from Taylor.
Not because he’ll be declining in skill or anything, but it’s likely that Indianapolis won’t use Taylor as much as they did last season. Talking to Peter King recently, Frank Reich told King that he could “feed Jonathan Taylor 370 times this year and he’d break all the records for yards and TDs.” When King asked Taylor about that, Taylor responded, “You can have all the yards and all the records, and if you don’t get the wins, what does it all mean? I just don’t care.”
That’s pretty much been Taylor’s M.O. since he entered the league; he’s a team-first guy. While he doesn’t mind carrying the load for a victory, he’s also willing to let other guys step up if that’s what’s needed. With the various changes in Indianapolis this offseason, many anticipate that Taylor’s production will dip a bit from his breakout season of last year.
Colts may rely on Jonathan Taylor less this season
Make no mistake, Jonathan Taylor will still be the central focus of this offense. However, with Matt Ryan now at quarterback, someone that everyone in the organization has great faith in, Michael Pittman Jr. developing into a star, and a group of young emerging pass catchers, Indy will definitely be hoping to improve its pass game.
This means that Taylor will likely see fewer carries than last year. However, the Colts have proved that feeding Taylor gives them a great chance to win, going 9-1 last season in games where Taylor ran for more than 100 yards. But, the goal is to have a more balanced offense so the team can win in any way possible late into the season.
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