Source: Andy Lyons / Getty
Jonathan Taylor has played in nine games for the Indianapolis Colts, but it averaging a career worst 4.0 yards per carry…which begs the question, how healthy is the 2021 rushing champion?
It was expected for Taylor to be rusty coming into the season after missing the final three games of the 2022 season, the entirety of the Colts offseason workouts, and the first four weeks of this season. In his first two games, he totaled 14 attempts for 37 yards. In his third game back against Cleveland, he rushed for 75 yards on 18 carries.
At the time it felt like it was trending towards becoming his backfield over Zack Moss because he followed up the Cleveland game with a solid performance against New Orleans. The Wisconsin product averaged nearly eight yards per carry on twelve attempts. That’s when the inefficiency started.
Against New England and Carolina, Taylor toted the rock 31 times for 116 yards (3.7 yards per carry). The thing that made Taylor such a dominant force in 2021 was his ability to create big chunk runs. In those two games, his longest rush was 13 yards.
The break out game would finally happen in his seventh week back against the Buccaneers. Taylor had numerous runs where he turned something out of nothing, and found the end zone twice. He finished the game with 91 yards on 15 attempts (6.1 yards per carry), but injured his thumb in the process.
Instead of missing two games like many believed, it was a three game absence for the Colts top back. Taylor returned against the Falcons where he had the second fewest yards per carry in his career when seeing 10+ attempts with 2.4 on 18 rushes. JT followed that game up with nearly his first 100+ rushing game in 415 days…against the Raiders.
ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder joined Jake Query & Jimmy Cook on Tuesday’s Query and Company to provide his estimation on how healthy Taylor is right now.
“He was clearly not 100% on Sunday. I saw him in the blue tent on at least one occasion. He came out of the game in critical moments, which should tell you everything. I don’t know what the number is, but it’s not 100% and it might not be close to 100%. He’s clearly not himself. It felt like a couple other games this year from Jonathan Taylor this year where he was a couple steps away from taking one to the house.” Holder stated.
Other topics that the Indianapolis Colts beat reporter for ESPN.com discussed were:
- The offensive line’s performance with Braden Smith returning
- If he thinks Kenny Moore will be able to suit up against Houston
- Where he thinks the Colts have an advantage over the Texans
To listen to Jake Query and Jimmy Cook’s conversation with Stephen Holder, download the podcast containing the conversation below! You can always listen to the Query & Company from 12pm-3pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan. You can also watch and interact with the show by going to the 107.5 The Fan YouTube Channel.
