ESPN’s annual league poll ranks Colts player Jonathan Taylor as the fifth-best RB in the NFL

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (Subscription), Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was voted the fifth-best running back in the league in an annual poll of league executives, coaches and scouts.:

5. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

Highest ranking: 2 | Lowest ranking: Unrated

Age: 25 | Last year’s ranking: 6

Taylor’s career has seen many ups and downs, from the 2021 rushing title to a third-year slump that was partly due to the Colts’ weak offense around him to a lengthy contract dispute that delayed last year’s trade deadline.

At the end of 2023, equipped with a new contract, Taylor managed 487 yards and six touchdowns in his last five games.

“Still explosive – he was banged up last year,” said an AFC scout. “The Colts have been slow to get him going. But right now he’s probably the best combination of size and straight-line speed.”

The Colts’ run-block win rate improved from 23rd to 14th year-over-year, and if Taylor stays healthy throughout the season, his rate should improve even further.

“I expect a great year from him,” said an AFC executive. “Still an influential player.”

Even after an injury-limited 2023 season, Taylor was actually (and surprisingly) able to move up one spot in this year’s annual NFL running back rankings.

Despite a persistent ankle injury (which saw him begin the regular season as a PUP) and thumb surgery late in the season, Taylor managed 741 rushing yards on 169 total carries (an average of 4.4 yards per game) and 7 rushing touchdowns in 10 games (7 starts).

Although the 2021 season was a far cry from his outstanding 2021 season, in which he totaled 1,811 rushing yards (an average of 5.5 yards per carry) and 18 rushing touchdowns on 332 carries – becoming the NFL’s “Triple Crown King” on the ground, leading the league in rushing yards, carries and rushing touchdowns – he ended the 2023 season with quite a bang!

In fact, Taylor has shown that he can still be a superstar workhorse even when he is fully healthy.

Notably, in the Colts’ final regular season game against their rival Houston Texans in a must-win game, Taylor ran for 188 yards on 30 carries (an average of 6.3 yards per game) and a rushing touchdown and nearly led the Colts’ offense to the playoffs and ultimately to a division title – but their comeback attempt at the end of the game fell just short. It was really close to becoming the “Jonathan Taylor game” in Colts fans’ folklore, but alas.

Still, there’s no doubt that Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers should be the best running back in all of football right now. The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Pro remains the king. But there are certainly still running backs behind him for glory.

Given his unique combination of speed and power, I still think Taylor is at least a top-three running back in the sport when fully healthy, and it’s not like the players ranked ahead of him don’t have some injury concerns of their own (namely Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns, who is coming off a serious knee injury, and Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles, who has also been battling some injuries). Breece Hall of the New York Jets had a good year, but perhaps not the same proven production as some of his other top peers.

This seems to be the year that the league’s attention has finally cooled a bit on longtime Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry, who signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Ravens earlier in the offseason. Henry is still effective, but also has a lot of wear and tear as a power back. Henry fell from No. 5 almost out of the top 10 to No. 9 overall. The Colts probably won’t miss him in the AFC South.