The Indianapolis Colts found a real gem in the fifth round of the 2025 draft. He played a key role in the Week 1 win over the Dolphins, and I expect his impact will only increase as the 2025 season plays out.
The Colts' rookie class was already decimated by injuries before the season started. To be precise, that's worse than decimated, as two of their nine first-year players are out for the season. For the math-challenged set (probably Texans fans ), that's 22 percent. Regardless, both Justin Walley and Hunter Wohler were expected to play major roles in Lou Anarumo's defense.
As it stands, no rookie has had a bigger impact on the Colts' fortunes so far this year than running back DJ Giddens. Okay, that's obviously an extreme exaggeration. Rookie tight end Tyler Warren was okay, too. And by okay, I mean he already looks like one of the best tight ends in the league. As great as Warren is, I expect Giddens will see his impact continue to evolve.
DJ Giddens helps the Indianapolis Colts in more ways than one
No, DJ Giddens didn't have nearly the spectacular debut as his teammate Warren. But 41 yards on a dozen carries isn't bad, either. It wasn't exactly a Jonathan Taylor stat line, but it didn't have to be. Let's look back at last season and check what the Colts did without Taylor in the lineup.
Trey Sermon got the nod in Taylor's absence. Let's say he wasn't quite as effective as the two-time Pro Bowler. Sermon racked up 103 yards on 36 carries. That's an average of 2.86 yards per touch. As a complementary back, when Taylor started, he added a total of 56 yards on 20 carries. And yes, that's for the entire 2024 season.
Compare that to what Giddens did in his first game in the league. He didn't have a great average, no, but 3.42 yards is significantly better than 2.86. For those who are curious, the great Jonathan Taylor gained 22 yards on nine carries in his very first game. As we all know, he exploded after that, but first starts in the NFL are rarely the best predictors of career success.
I'm not saying Giddens is the next Taylor or Edgerrin James. Far from it. But he is certainly the first legitimate second option Indianapolis has had in the backfield in years. Will the Colts' rushing attack be just as good when they hand off to Giddens? No, I highly doubt it. But the fall off isn't that severe.
Far more importantly, every carry by Giddens is one less burden on Taylor. The Colts' star averaged just under 19 carries per game last year. He averaged 19.5 in his 2021 All-Pro season and hasn't played a full season since. In fact, he's missed 16 games since then.
The emergence of Giddens affords the Colts the luxury of keeping the focus on the ground game, without literally running Taylor into the ground. And that makes DJ Giddens a very valuable asset, indeed.