While there are a handful of position battles and meaningful competition for roster spots happening on the Indianapolis Colts, getting beat out by someone behind him isn't something six-year veteran running back Jonathan Taylor has to worry about.
The job is Taylor's, and the only way he'll lose it is through an unfortunate injury. Taylor is also part of a longer conversation regarding his future with the Colts as he enters the final year of his three-year contract. The Colts must know they have to ink another deal with their All-Pro rusher.
Whether that new deal happens before the new season or somewhere after, Taylor remains the Colts No. 1 ball carrier, but he's not the only one looking for reps. It's not often that a rookie walks in and carries himself like a veteran, poised and on top of everything, but that is Taylor's impression of Zach McGowan, who is competing for a backup job behind Taylor.
Indianapolis Colts' seventh-round draft pick Seth McGowan is turning heads in the running back room
The chances that McGowan steals the spot right behind Taylor from DJ Giddens and Ulysses Bentley IV. Both Giddens and Bentley were 2025 draft selections by the Colts (Bentley went undrafted but signed as a free agent), but neither has done much to solidify their spot as the Colts' permanent No. 2 rusher.
What Taylor recently said about McGowan, though, leads to the belief that the former Kentucky Wildcats rusher could be the man for the job, at least, at this point in the Colts' offseason, with training camp the next event on the schedule.
According to Taylor, McGowan has impressed in more than one area so far, and he foresees that momentum continuing into the Colts' training camp in July.
"Because a lot of times when you come in, you know, as a rookie, there's almost like a built-in set of, hey, he may have a couple, you know, mental errors," Taylor said during a recent media session. "You know, you're learning the offense. He's had very minimal, like, if any. So that lets me know he's a smart guy. He can grasp concepts, which is going to only help him, especially when training camp comes and things are going full speed."
Of course, once training camp kicks off and the rev up to the NFL preseason begins, either Giddens or Bentley could come on strong, each already having one year in the league under their belts, while McGowan hasn't played a single NFL regular season snap.
That said, Taylor, who has all the experience in the world, not to mention he's an elite running back, is clearly noticing certain attributes in McGowan's early game worth taking notice of.
Not to overblow the situation, but that's good news for the rookie, who, if he indeed wins the backup job, will already have a measure of respect from the veteran that could translate into their relationship during next season.
From here on out, it may be McGowan's job to lose, because if Taylor is seeing what he is, surely, the Colts' coaching staff, Shane Steichen and Jim Bob Cooter especially, are seeing the same thing.
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