Is Jonathan Taylor The Next In Line Among The Colts' Great Running Backs?

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FIT WITH THE COLTS


For a long time in the NFL, running the football was king.


It was an old-school approach in which teams thought you couldn't be successful if you didn't have a solid running attack, and although the NFL has leaned more toward the passing game for the last decade or so, at some point everything often does come full circle back around to the run game.


The Colts know this.


Do they want to be a top-five rushing team? Yes. Do they also want to be able to pass the ball at will? Yes. However, in order to be successful, the Colts understand that they will need to be able to run the ball when they want to.


Although the Colts finished No. 7 in rushing last season — going over 2,000 rushing yards on the season for the first time since 1994 and having an individual 1,000-yard rusher for just the second time since 2007 — they still took the player believed by many to be the best running back in this year's draft.


The Kansas City Chiefs were just 23rd in rushing last regular season with 98.1 rushing yards per game, but back in February, they came back to beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV due in large part to the run game. Even though they had an incredible quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs' 129 rushing yards were well over their regular-season average, led by running back Damien Williams' 104 yards.


It came back full circle: even though the Chiefs were a passing team, at some point they had to run the ball at a high level in order to achieve their ultimate goal.


That's where Taylor comes in, now being paired with a 1,000-yard back in Marlon Mack, a runner who has 107 receptions in his first two years in Nyheim Hines and a guy who has been among the top two in the NFL in yards per carry for the last two years in Jordan Wilkins.


"I think sometimes you do it by committee, but everybody has their emphasis. Everybody knows Nyheim is kind of our go-to scheme-up pass guy. We do some unique things with Nyheim. Jordan has been our number-two back and he's done a very good job. But now with Jonathan into the mix, I really envision that it'll be Jonathan and Marlon really being that one-two punch, them really being the one-two punch," Colts head coach Frank Reich said about how Taylor will fit into the Colts' backfield. "When you look at good teams over the years – it's a long season. It's a grind and when you run the ball as much as we run it, it's really good to be able to change that up. I think their styles will really complement each other very well."


As a baseline, Taylor fits the Colts perfectly. He literally scored a 100-percent match for the Colts based on the minimum physical and athletic thresholds in regard to the three running backs they've drafted since Chris Ballard arrived in 2017.


As a player, his fit is also without question: athletic, tough, high character.


A player of Taylor's caliber running behind All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson and the Colts' offensive line, with the attitude and dominance that the their front often displays, could really be a sight to see. And with a threatening passing game, Taylor is likely to see fewer loaded boxes than he did in college, giving him more room to run.


"It's awesome to see, and now being able to team up with him (Nelson), it's going to be awesome just being able to make sure we're all on the same page," Taylor said. "We can do something really special when the running back and the O-line are on the same page."


Not building the right kind of locker room with leaders and team-first guys like Taylor could make a pairing like this fall apart, but the Colts' locker room is full of leaders who are interested in the team's accomplishments, and just want to win.


As a team captain noted for his work ethic and sportsmanship, Taylor has no problem playing as part of a unit rather than immediately being the guy, and the same can be said for the Colts' reigning rushing leader, Mack.


"It's funny, in the draft room you will hear it a lot – reliable and tough. We want tough, reliable guys – show up every week, compete, teammates can count on them. That wins. That wins over time and we have done a good job of that. We have a great locker room. We have great guys," Ballard said after the draft. "I'll tell you a story, I haven't talked to Marlon yet, but Frank texted Marlon – I mean look, we just drafted another good back. Marlon is a special kid man. He's a special teammate. He knows that Taylor is going to make us better, and he is going to make Marlon better."


"It's just, 'Let's go, man," Mack said, according to Ballard. "Let's go win.'"