Colts Jonathan Taylor listed as one of ten NFL RBs who are ‘engines for their team’s offense’

According to NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks, Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is listed as one of ten NFL running backs who is an ‘engine for his team’s offense’ ahead of the 2023 season:

Jonathan Taylor

Indianapolis Colts · Age: 24

As a former NFL rushing champion for a team without another big-name star on offense, Taylor certainly deserves a spot on this list. The 5-foot-10, 226-pounder has carried the offense since his arrival as an old-school runner with some new-school elements to his game. Taylor’s quickness, balance, body control and vision make him a big-play threat with the capacity to score from anywhere on the field. Behind a talented but inconsistent offensive line that features few all-stars at the point of attack (SEE: Quenton Nelson and Ryan Kelly), the speedster, who’s fully healed from offseason ankle surgery, can put six points on the board for the Colts in a hurry.

In a league that has almost exclusively gone to ‘running back-by-committee’ approaches in most NFL backfields (i.e., utilizing each running back’s specific skill-set), Taylor is a workhorse in every sense of the word—and one of the few still left of his rare breed.

There’s no question that his rushing impact will be critical for the Colts offense this upcoming campaign, as he will be leaned on heavily in the ground game—especially to ease the initial transition of top rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.

The Colts are expected to once again feature a power, zone running game in offensive style, playing off the run first—and the legs of both Taylor, and now Richardson (particularly in their now dynamic and dangerous RPO game) in order to set up a vertical passing attack.

Similarly to how he was utilized with former starting quarterback Carson Wentz during the 2021 season, who even if he was erratic throwing, was mobile and boasted a big arm, Taylor should once again be the catalyst for the Colts offensive game plan—if fully healthy, with a rebound monstrous season a realistic possibility.