Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor compared rookie Seth McGowan to David Montgomery after practice this week. I don’t see that myself. The pro comp I see when I watch McGowan is Kareem Hunt. Either way, that would be just fine for the Colts this year.
Taylor said, "Everybody thinks he's just like a big power back, but Seth has some moves. If you look at his feet, he reminds me of like a David Montgomery...Seth has great feet."
There are plenty of qualifiers to consider here. For one, the real hitting hasn’t started. It’s virtually impossible to accurately judge a running back based on non-contact practices.
Indianapolis Colts rookie Seth McGowan gets off to a good start, but the jury is still out
Second, Jonathan Taylor is an awesome and gracious teammate. He almost always has something positive to say about the young guys on the team. We have heard him do it year after year. It has never really resulted in anything significant once the season begins. When the real games come, those young backs seem to spend an awful lot of time on the bench.
Will McGowan be different? He has several things going for him.
First and foremost, he is a grinder. That’s where the Montgomery, or the Hunt, comparison is most encouraging. During last year’s training camp, coach Shane Steichen referred to rookie DJ Giddens as a “glider.” I have nothing against gliders. Some of my best friends seem to glide through life.
But that is not the backfield that Indianapolis needs. Not right now. There may well be a place for Giddens in this backfield as a third-down specialist and RB1 replacement if Taylor gets hurt.
But Seth McGowan pounds away at a defense. I don’t think he does it with quite the same brute power as David Montgomery. He looks a little bit leaner and quicker when I watch him. That’s where I get Kareem Hunt. But both Montgomery and Hunt are violent, aggressive runners who seek out contact and punish defenders. I see that in Seth McGowan.
And quite frankly, that is what the Colts have been missing during Jonathan Taylor's time in Indy. Taylor is the rare back that can both punish a defense with power and break big plays with his burst. That’s why he has been in the top tier of NFL runners since entering the league.
And as nice as it would be to have a real home run hitter playing behind him, what is more important is that Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen identify someone who can absorb some of the punishment that Taylor has taken over the past six years and dish out some of his own.
Seth McGowan does not figure to be as good as David Montgomery or peak-years Kareem Hunt. There’s a reason why those two veteran backs were drafted in the top 100 while McGowan had to wait until pick number 237 to hear his name called this past April. A legal matter when he was younger may have contributed to his slide, but it doesn’t explain everything.
When praising the rookie, Taylor focused on his feet. That is one of the key elements that makes a power runner dangerous. Being light on his feet and able to make quick cuts. Seth McGowan is never going to run away from NFL defenders. He barely did that in college. And he has not shown himself to be particularly good in the passing game.
Those elements would be nice, but that is not what his team needs. David Montgomery entered the league with lead-back ambition. And this season, he figures to be the RB1 in the Houston Texans backfield. I expect he will do pretty well there, especially if Houston's evolving offensive line makes strides this year.
But David Montgomery was at his best when playing as RB1a alongside Jahmyr Gibbs these last three years in Detroit. His carries dropped significantly. Everything else – yards-per-carry, touchdowns, success rate – went way up.
That is the model. Like Detroit, the Colts have a very good offensive line. They have an elite RB1 and a creative play caller designing the attack. What they have lacked is the grinder. The back who can ensure that Taylor remains fresh by absorbing contact and perhaps making a few plays of his own along the way. They have lacked Kareem Hunt, or the Detroit version of David Montgomery.
Maybe they have finally found it in Seth McGowan.
Add us as a preferred source on Google