Led by arguably the best running back in the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts backfield was ranked as the second-best unit in the league by Pro Football Focus.
Following Jonathan Taylor’s dominating and historic season in 2021, the third-year back will be looking to win the rushing title for the second consecutive season.
Behind him, the dynamic and versatile Nyheim Hines should be more involved than he was in 2021—a mistake the Colts are desperate to correct.
Only the Cleveland Browns, featuring Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, were ranked higher than the Colts by Pro Football Focus.
After a strong close to his rookie season in 2020, Jonathan Taylor staked his claim last year as the NFL’s top running back with an 87.0 PFF grade that led all players at the position. He’s the type of running back who Indianapolis doesn’t necessarily want to take off the field, but the Colts have the depth to feel comfortable giving him a rest here and there.
Nyheim Hines is one of the better receiving threats out of the backfield in the NFL while still posing a threat as a runner. And offseason acquisition Phillip Lindsay will be looking for a bounceback after a down season in Houston last year. Lindsay earned PFF rushing grades above 75.0 in three consecutive seasons with the Broncos from 2018 to 2020.
It will be interesting to see who wins the RB3 job in training camp. Lindsay probably has the inside track following minicamp while he’ll receive some competition from Ty’Son Williams, D’Vonte Price, Deon Jackson and C.J. Verdell.
The backfield will belong to Taylor again this season as we should expect another campaign with at least a 70% running back rush share and 10% target share as his floor usage.
Taylor will be leading the unit in 2022 while looking to prove he’s the best running back in the NFL after an insanely productive sophomore season.
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