Even though all eyes will be on the budding star at quarterback, Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is preparing for a major comeback season.
The NFL’s rushing leader in 2021 hasn’t found the same success since due to some nagging injuries, and the Colts got all of two snaps with Taylor and Anthony Richardson on the field together in 2023.
But with both players healthy going into training camp, Taylor is in for another stellar campaign.
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Taylor will need to prove he can stay healthy after missing 13 games over the last two seasons due to ankle and thumb injuries. However, he still proved to be a major game-changer for the Colts offense down the stretch in 2023.
Taylor started seeing his regular workload during the team’s final 11 games of the season. He missed three of those games due to thumb surgery. But in the five games before and the three games after, Taylor was playing at an elite level.
In those eight games, Taylor took 155 carries for 704 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns while adding 13 receptions for 91 receiving yards and a touchdown.
A 17-game pace of those numbers would give Taylor 329 carries for 1,496 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns to go along with 28 receptions for 193 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
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Keep in mind, Taylor did all that with Gardner Minshew under center in 2023. In theory, having Richardson commanding the attention of the defense should open the lanes for Taylor much more.
The high amount of touchdowns may be difficult to come by if Richardson is going to be used near the goal line, which is still likely to be the case despite his shoulder injury. Even with that, Taylor hitting double digits is well within the range of outcomes.
The Colts are going to rely heavily on the run game, and Taylor being a featured part of that attack should lead to an exciting bounce-back campaign.
For more Colts coverage, check out Kevin Hickey’s work on Sporting News.
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