Jonathan Taylor
Coming off a career-year 2025 that finished RB4 in fantasy scoring, Taylor enters the season as the Colts' unquestioned every-down back with almost no internal competition for touches.
Role
Taylor is a true bell-cow: in 2025 he posted an NFL-high 88.4% opportunity share and a top-2 snap rate among running backs, leading the league with 323 carries (1,585 yards, 18 TDs) while adding 46 catches. The Colts' only other backfield pieces are change-of-pace/depth options (DJ Giddens, Tyler Goodson) who project for spot work at most, not a real share of the load. He sat out the entire 2026 preseason, including being held out of the finale loss to Detroit, but that was a standard veteran-rest decision by coach Shane Steichen rather than anything injury-related, and he carries no designation heading into the season.
He's the clear centerpiece of Indianapolis' offense, touching the ball roughly 23 times a game with elite volume in both the run and pass game, and the Colts have shown no interest in diversifying the workload behind him.
His per-touch efficiency has trended down since his 2021 peak, his 18 rushing touchdowns look hard to repeat, and a lengthy injury history (including multiple past high-ankle sprains) makes some analysts nervous about banking on another 320-plus-carry, mostly-healthy season.
Where analysts split
The real debate is whether last year's monster touchdown and yardage output was a sustainable byproduct of his workload and offensive role, or a career-best outlier that regresses given his age, wear on his body, and history of missed time — one prominent ranking has him notably behind his current draft price for exactly this reason, even while acknowledging his role is safe and unrivaled.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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