The hype around Jonathan Taylor is out of control. If you want Taylor in fantasy, you have to buck up for him. Taylor has been routinely ranked ahead of guys like Mark Ingram and Raheem Mostert. My question is why? I have my doubts about Taylor as a player and feels due to disappoint a lot of people.
Personally, I felt Taylor was very overrated at Wisconsin. Taylor was an excellent player in college. His production is out of this world. Taylor rushed for over 6,000 yards in college at a 6.7 per carry average. Pretty, pretty good. I also don’t care.
A lot of Wisconsin running backs have put up numbers. Ron Dayne, Brian Calhoun, PJ Hill, John Clay, and Montee Ball are notable examples. Taylor and other running backs in the past run behind great offensive lines and find ways to produce in the slow Big 10. Bravo, congrats, nobody cares.
I don’t see how Taylor is significantly better than Melvin Gordon who hasn’t been an efficient running back in the NFL. Taylor has great speed, a good build, and production on his side. There’s also a lot of red flags. Unreliable pass catcher, heavy workloads, fumbling problems, unproven pass protection, and lack of short area explosion. Taylor is far from perfect.
Taylor was a fumbling machine in college. In 41 career games, Taylor put the ball on the ground 18 times. NOT IDEAL. With Marlon Mack in the backfield already, if Taylor starting fumbling again take a guess what’s going to happen. He’s going to find his way on the bench.
Garrett Groshek was the man asked to do pass protection at Wisconsin. Maybe Taylor is a good pass protector but I haven’t seen it. Nor does Wisconsin throw enough to really know.
Taylor played 41 games in college. He notched 926 carries in those games. NOT IDEAL. If I’m thinking long term for fantasy, I don’t know how many good years he’s giving me. Montee Ball came to the NFL and he was shot after Week 3. Career over. His usage in college was so crazy that I don’t know how you can’t be worried.
Taylor is also an unproven pass catcher. His first two years in college he recorded 16 total receptions. Here’s the other thing not being talked about. Sure, the Colts want to develop Taylor in that aspect. However, Nyheim Hines exists and he’s very good at his role. Hines is the pass catcher on this team.
I’ll say this again too. I think Taylor has talent? Yes, but there’s a lot of red flags. My eyes tell me something is missing. His short area bursts are not up to par just from the eye test.
Here’s the other thing. The Colts backfield is a time share. Marlon Mack is still on the roster. Marlon Mack was a 1,000 yard rusher last year and did a hell of a job for this team. Indianapolis has already said it’s a 1a-1b situation. Mack is getting a lot of carries.
The Jonathan Taylor thing is out of control. The Colts offensive line is a plus but I don’t see some sort of high powered offense with Philip Rivers who’s on his last legs.
