Jonathan Taylor has spent the last several years cementing himself as one of the NFL’s elite running backs, and the Colts backed that up in August with a two-year, $44 million extension. Indianapolis made the move to keep one of the league’s best exactly where he belongs, rather than letting the situation drag into the regular season.
But Taylor didn’t use the moment to crown himself the game’s top runner. Instead, he pointed to Derrick Henry as the model everyone else is chasing.
The Baltimore Ravens back has long had Taylor’s respect. Taylor has praised Henry for years and has even publicly pushed for Henry to get an MVP nod in seasons past. That respect came through again during Taylor’s appearance with former ESPN NFL analyst and commentator Ryan Clark on The Pivot, where Taylor made clear why Henry sits alone as the standard at the position.
Taylor’s case is built on production and staying power. Henry has kept rolling in Baltimore without showing the kind of decline that usually hits running backs once they get deep into their careers. Over his two seasons with the Ravens, Henry has rushed for 1,921 yards and 1,595 yards, with a third season pending, and he has scored 32 touchdowns across the past two seasons.
For Taylor, that kind of consistency is exactly what makes Henry the benchmark. He sees the 11-year veteran as proof of what it looks like when a running back keeps delivering at a high level long after many players at the position have started to fade.
Taylor also used Henry as part of a bigger point about the position itself. He believes running back remains the most skilled job on the field because it demands a rare mix of toughness, quickness, intelligence, strength, and the ability to improvise on every snap.
And in a league where backs like Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Bjon Robinson, Jamhyr Gibbs, and Henry are driving renewed attention toward the position, Taylor sees Henry as the one who still sets the bar. In his view, Henry is the “position's standard-setter.”
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The list includes rookie safety A.J. Haulcy, who was among the players not practicing, while Pierce, Tyler Warren and Josh Downs were on the field. With the opener drawing closer, the Colts are still sorting through a few health questions on both sides of the ball, and how those situations resolve will shape what the team looks like when the Ravens come to town. [Read more 🡒]