Jonathan Taylor has a chance to do something a Colts running back hasn’t done in over 15 years
Jonathan Taylor is on the verge of an impressive feat that a running back with the Indianapolis Colts hasn’t achieved in a long time.
Last season, Jonathan Taylor had a breakout year as he led the Indianapolis Colts to a nine-win season. Taylor led the league in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns and claimed multiple franchise records. Mind you, that was only Jonathan Taylor’s second year in the NFL; he was just getting started. This created grandiose expectations for Taylor’s third season.
13 games into the season, and Taylor hasn’t had the production that many assumed he was going to. It’s not because the third-year running back has already fallen off, but because the Colts have taken a massive step back offensively, particularly Indy’s offensive line. With Indianapolis a struggling 4-8-1, and Taylor not setting the league ablaze again, some may be inclined to look at JT’s season as a massive disappointment. However, that should not be the case because Taylor is on the verge of doing something that hasn’t been done for the Colts in 17 years.
Jonathan Taylor is just 139 yards away from a 1000-yard season. With four games left, barring injury, Taylor should hit that milestone. When he does, it’ll be his third straight 1000-yard season. The last time Indianapolis had a running back with at least three straight 1000-yard seasons was Edgerrin James from 2003 to 2005.
Jonathan Taylor is on the verge of his third straight 1000-yard season
The most impressive thing about this is that Taylor is only in his third year. That means he walked right in the door and got to work. As a rookie, Taylor rushed for 1,169 yards. During his breakout second year, Taylor ran for a league-leading 1,811 yards. Now, he has 861 yards with four games remaining. A consistent 1000-yard running back is something that should be appreciated in the NFL, especially in Indianapolis where it’s been rare in recent history.
In the eight seasons between Joseph Addai’s final 1000-yard season in 2008, and Frank Gore’s 1000-yard season in 2016, the Colts didn’t have one running back to crack 1000 yards. Addai was the last running back to have back-to-back 1000-yard seasons in 2006 and 2007 but the three seasons before that, when Edgerrin James was the feature back, was the last time a Colt did it for three straight years.
Taylor could possibly accomplish the feat against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15, but if not, he should definitely get it done over the next few weeks of the regular season. As long as Taylor remains healthy, it’s hard to imagine him not running for 1000 yards in any season in Indianapolis.
