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According to PFF’s Sam Monson, Indianapolis Colts second-year running back Jonathan Taylor is ranked among their top 25 players under the age of 25 years old at opening NFL kickoff (September 9th, 2021)—coming in ‘hot’ at the 22nd overall spot:
22. RB JONATHAN TAYLOR, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Once Jonathan Taylor got going for the Colts last season, it became obvious that he has the same ability at the NFL level as he did during his all-time great college career. Taylor averaged almost 3.0 yards after contact per carry and broke off 35 runs of 10 or more yards, slipping past 41 tackles along the way. As he continues to run behind one of the league’s best offensive lines, expect him to be a force again this upcoming season.
The listed 5’10”, 226 pound back caught fire down the stretch for the Colts en route to rushing for a rookie-leading 1,169 rushing yards to go along with his 232 carries and 11 rushing touchdowns during his sizzling debut 2020 campaign.
Featuring a tantalizing combination of speed, power, and vision, Taylor has all of the makings of becoming one of the league’s truly elite running backs (in fact, one could make the strong argument that he’s already pretty close to such star status right now).
Running behind one of the league’s top offensive lines and having already ‘learned the ropes’ a bit as a breakout rookie, Taylor is poised for another big season in Indianapolis.
Having left Wisconsin after just his junior season, it’s pretty crazy to think that Taylor is still only 22 years old—and won’t turn 23 until next January. He runs way beyond his years, as already a very polished young workhorse.
As such, he should be a mainstay on such a Top 25 ‘youthful’ ranking again for at least a few more seasons for the Colts—anchoring their loaded backfield.
Some other names to watch for future imminent seasons for the Colts are potentially Julian Blackmon (22), Michael Pittman Jr. (23), Kwity Paye (22), and Dayo Odeyingbo (21).