NFL coaches, executives, and scouts have made their latest call on Jonathan Taylor, and the Colts running back landed at No. 5 in ESPN’s annual positional poll.
That puts Taylor behind Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Saquon Barkley, and Christian McCaffrey, with Derrick Henry, James Cook III, De'Von Achane, Kenneth Walker III, and Breece Hall rounding out the rest of the top 10. Taylor was No. 7 a year ago, so he moved up two spots in the latest ranking.
The vote spread tells its own story. Taylor drew the highest vote at No. 2 and the lowest at unranked, and he showed up on all but one ballot. Nearly 30% of his votes landed inside the top three, a strong nod from around the league to a back who has kept producing even with shaky quarterback play around him.
"Really special in space," an NFL coordinator said. "Once he hits the second and third levels with some space to operate, he's uniquely talented."
Taylor’s 2025 season gave that praise plenty of backing. His four runs of 40 yards or more trailed only Gibbs, and he also caught a career-high 46 passes, with Daniel Jones helping him in both play-action and the passing game.
At 27, Taylor remains one of the Colts’ clearest building blocks, especially with Jones returning from a torn Achilles. Indianapolis will need Taylor to keep carrying a heavy load.
His résumé already stacks up with the best backs in franchise history. Taylor broke the Colts’ single-game rushing record with 253 yards as a rookie in 2020, passed Hall of Famer Edgerrin James for the franchise career rushing touchdown mark last year, and is a little more than 1,600 rushing yards away from that record too.
He was a First-Team All-Pro in 2021 after leading the NFL in rushing yards, has made three Pro Bowls, and has led the league in carries and touchdowns twice. On top of that, he’s fifth in NFL history in rushing yards per game at 90.5, trailing only Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, and Eric Dickerson.
The production has been steady enough to keep him in the national spotlight. Taylor has 69 career rushing touchdowns, second only to Derrick Henry’s 84 since 2020. Last season, he posted eight games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage, including three with 150 or more, and finished with five games of at least three touchdowns.
Fowler’s poll also included honorable mentions for Josh Jacobs of the Green Bay Packers, Kyren Williams of the Los Angeles Rams, and Quinshon Judkins of the Cleveland Browns.
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