I like the look of Jonathan Taylor for the 2021 season. He got a lot more comfortable in the second half of his rookie season, and I think the Colts will rely on the run extensively.
Taylor looked iffy for much of the first half of last year. He averaged only 48 rushing yards in his first nine games, failing to cash in on the opportunity for more playing time created by Marlon Mack getting injured early in their opener. Taylor wasn’t good enough, and the Colts were also trying to figure out their offense – at times relying too much on the pass.
But Taylor got it going nicely late in the year. He averaged 124 rushing yards in his final six regular season games, then ran for 78 yards and a touchdown in the playoff game at Buffalo. He’s their guy, he gets it now, and he’s running behind one of the league’s better offensive lines. (Colts will need to find a left tackle to replace Anthony Castonzo, but they’ve got plenty of cap room.)
First half of the season, Taylor averaged only 3.9 yards per carry. It was looking at times (specifically, the Ravens game) that the Colts were kind of souring on him. But he averaged 6.0 per attempt in the second half of the season.
Looking at the final eight games for each team, Taylor had the 2nd-most rushing yards in the league (and that despite missing one game for COVID reasons).
(On this chart, the touchdowns category includes not only rushing touchdowns but also touchdowns on pass plays.)
| RUSHING, SECOND HALF OF SEASON | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | first 8 G |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 196 | 1,184 | 6.0 | 9 | 182-843-8 |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 126 | 753 | 6.0 | 8 | 106-416-4 |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 133 | 732 | 5.5 | 8 | 57-335-4 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 168 | 699 | 4.2 | 4 | 144-858-13 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 111 | 657 | 5.9 | 4 | 90-447-7 |
| David Montgomery, Chi. | 130 | 628 | 4.8 | 8 | 117-442-2 |
| Melvin Gordon, Den. | 119 | 593 | 5.0 | 5 | 96-393-5 |
| Wayne Gallman, NYG | 110 | 528 | 4.8 | 4 | 37-154-2 |
| J.K. Dobbins, Balt. | 82 | 508 | 6.2 | 7 | 52-297-2 |
| James Robinson, Jac. | 108 | 490 | 4.5 | 3 | 132-580-7 |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 112 | 477 | 4.3 | 6 | 161-588-6 |
| Cam Akers, LAR | 110 | 477 | 4.3 | 3 | 35-148-0 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 91 | 461 | 5.1 | 13 | 96-471-8 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 112 | 458 | 4.1 | 2 | 132-521-6 |
| Ronald Jones, T.B. | 75 | 449 | 6.0 | 4 | 117-529-4 |
| Kenyan Drake, Ariz. | 120 | 443 | 3.7 | 6 | 119-512-4 |
| Jeff Wilson, S.F. | 88 | 437 | 5.0 | 5 | 38-163-5 |
| Miles Sanders, Phil. | 93 | 433 | 4.7 | 3 | 71-434-3 |
| Antonio Gibson, Was. | 80 | 404 | 5.1 | 6 | 90-391-5 |
| Gus Edwards, Balt. | 69 | 395 | 5.7 | 3 | 75-328-3 |
| Chris Carson, Sea. | 75 | 358 | 4.8 | 3 | 66-323-6 |
| Damien Harris, N.E. | 74 | 341 | 4.6 | 1 | 63-350-1 |
| Latavius Murray, N.O. | 65 | 335 | 5.2 | 3 | 81-321-2 |
| Frank Gore, NYJ | 91 | 313 | 3.4 | 2 | 96-340-0 |
| Kareem Hunt, Cle. | 83 | 312 | 3.8 | 4 | 115-529-7 |
| Devin Singletary, Buff. | 63 | 302 | 4.8 | 1 | 93-385-1 |
—Ian Allan