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Jonathan Taylor, the face of the Indianapolis Colts, could eventually be known as the franchise’s best running back of all time. But that won’t happen anytime soon, seeing that he’s only in his third NFL season. He has quite a long way to go before he can be labeled a G.O.A.T.
Following an outstanding career at Wisconsin, where he won the Doak Walker Award twice, Taylor was selected by the Colts in the second round (41st overall pick) of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The New Jersey native will have a great rookie year as a Colt, recording 1,169 rushing yards as well as 11 touchdowns.
A season ago, Taylor blossomed into the NFL’s most dangerous running back, leading the league with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.
One of his biggest highlights of 2021 came during a Week 11 contest against the Buffalo Bills. He produced a whopping 185 rushing yards and four touchdowns in an impressive 41-15 road victory. In addition, he caught three passes for 19 yards, including another touchdown.
Unfortunately, this season hasn’t gone as well as it did last year. Taylor, who has already missed three games, will sit out the final three games of the season due to an ankle injury.
Who are the greatest running backs in Colts history?
The “Greatest Colts Running Backs” list includes the likes of Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James and Joseph Addai. And you can’t leave out Baltimore Colts legends like Lydell Mitchell, Lenny Moore, Tom Matte and Alan Ameche.
Dickerson and Faulk are definitely the most famous players on the list, as they’re probably both considered top-10 running backs in NFL history.
Yet, no one in the group had a better Colts career than James. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in both rushing yards with 9,226 and rushing touchdowns (64).
James played seven seasons in Indy, teaming with Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison to form one of the best offensive trios we’ve ever seen.
What must Jonathan Taylor accomplish?
To surpass James as the Colts’ greatest running back of all time, Taylor will have his work cut out for him. For starters, he’ll have to stay healthy. Hopefully going forward he can manage to shake off the dreaded injury bug that has infected him this season.
Taylor currently has 3,841 career rushing yards, good for 10th on the Colts’ all-time list. To trump James, he’ll have to amass nearly 5,400 more yards. He can accomplish that feat if he remains in Indianapolis for several more years.
