Any fan of the Indianapolis Colts knows that Jonathan Taylor is an elite running back. However, one very impressive stat might convince the casual fan that Taylor is even better than one might think. The bellcow is often compared to his contemporaries in the modern NFL, but how does he stack up against all-time competition?
Taylor was only drafted in 2020, and even though running backs tend to have shorter primes in their careers, he shows no signs of slowing down. Colts fans seem poised to enjoy many more years of Taylor repping the white and blue horseshoe.
Hype for Taylor was at its peak in his sophomore season, and he was the consensus number one pick in fantasy leagues the year following. Unfortunately, as of late, he's had a few down years compared to his standard.
Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor is trending toward being historically great
His down year is still better than most running backs could dream of, but it is important to note. Even with all of that, as it stands now, Jonathan Taylor has reached about as high as imaginable in one critical stat.
This stat was recorded by Pro Football Reference, and obviously, with the nature of the standings, the placements of players are very subject to change. A stretch of bad games (or even a full bad season, however unlikely that seems now) could see the young back drop a few spots.
Similarly, if he keeps up his standard of explosive offense for large swaths of time, he could easily vault past the few all-time greats ahead of him on the list. As it stands now, Taylor sits behind only the great Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, and Eric Dickerson. Every one of those players was a first ballot Hall of Famer.
The only other active player in the top 10 of the stat is Derrick Henry, who will likely enter the first ballot hall of fame club once his career finishes (not that he's showing any sign of stopping soon). After Taylor's injury-ridden 2022 and 2023 campaigns, in which he played 11 and 10 games, respectively, the national media mostly left him by the wayside.
They acknowledged that he was a great player, but he wasn't put in the tier of elite players like Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Christian McCaffrey. After a stellar campaign in 2024 and with the explosive pace he's been on through three weeks in 2025, Jonathan Taylor is showing that he more than belongs in the conversation for best running back in the league.
In fact, he's been transcendental even over the modern era. With how good Taylor has been through his young career thus far, he's forcing himself into that elite upper echelon of running backs that warrant comparisons not just to their modern counterparts, but to the most iconic runners of the football that have ever graced the NFL.
Believe it when you're told that you have a Hall of Fame talent at running back, Indianapolis fans. Appreciate Jonathan Taylor for the level of play he brings to the team week in and week out. Eventually, you might just realize that he's been better than you ever thought he was.