Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor capped off his first season in the NFL by leading all rookies in rushing yards while being tied for the rookie lead in rushing touchdowns.
Even though Taylor firmly established himself in the league with a dominant second half, Pro Football Focus ranked the Wisconsin product as the 16th-best running back in the NFL.
It took him a little while to get rolling, but once he did, we saw how talented Taylor was during his rookie season. The Colts back led all rookies in rushing yards, notching 15 carries of 15 or more yards and 35 carries that went for at least 10 yards.
Taylor did take a while to truly dominate. He was steady through the first six games of the season and then hit a three-game rut coming out of the Week 7 bye. But after that, it’s hard to find many running backs that were better than Taylor.
In his final six games from Weeks 11-17 (he missed Week 12 due to COVID-19 protocols), Taylor took 119 carries for 741 rushing yards (6.2 YPA) and seven rushing touchdowns. On a full 16-game pace, Taylor was on pace for 1,976 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns.
Some questionable names above Taylor on the list include David Montgomery (No. 13), Josh Jacobs (No. 9) and Chris Carson (No. 8), just to name a few. None of those three should be ranked ahead of Taylor.
With a full offseason and a returning offensive line that should continue to be elite in run blocking, this ranking is likely going to look a bit foolish when the 2021 season is done.
