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Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard continues to stay aggressive in the offseason as he traded up in the second round to get a prospect he loves. The Colts originally had the 44th pick in the second round, but moved up three spots and gave up their 160th overall pick in the fifth round to take Wisconsin running back Johnathon Taylor.
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Even with the Colts having Marlon Mack, Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins, all proven NFL running backs on the roster, Ballard felt the need to get ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars—a team believed to want Taylor—and draft the running back out of Wisconsin.
This is a very interesting pick for the simple fact that Mack is in the final year of his rookie deal and he had a solid season last year, rushing for over 1,000 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Plus the Colts have used Hines and Wilkins more and more the past few years.
Taylor is a really good running back. He comes from a college that has produced multiple NFL successes like Melvin Gordon and Montee Ball. Supremely productive, a well-built runner with an all-day, every-day mentality that helped lead him to three Big Ten rushing titles. Taylor runs with bend and burst as an outside runner and has home-run speed once he gets into the open field.
He displays an ability to weave around interior traffic but might have evolved into more of a thinker than reactor inside due to fumbling issues and the litany of loaded fronts he faced. His patience and understanding of the where/when of blocks allowed him to thrive in multiple run schemes. He’s more a body puncher than a knockout artist, wearing down his opponents with carry after carry. His traits, toughness, and talent should make him an early start with a solid ceiling and more third-down potential than we saw at Wisconsin.
Any rusher that has already accumulated the number of carries that Taylor already recorded in his career (926), there will be longevity concerns of just how much tread is left on the tires. Taylor wasn’t asked to be much of a receiver during his career with the Badgers until his final season. Taylor proved to be comfortable with doing so, but more consistency needs to be shown in that area over the long haul. Taylor also had 18 fumbles (15 lost) in 41 career games.
With how good the Michael Pittman pick was, this Johnathon Taylor pick was as bad. To trade up three picks in the second round and lose your fifth-round pick when Ballard says he wants more picks, is a questionable decision.
I think Taylor is a great running back, probably the best in this class, but when you have what you have in-house with Mack, Hines, and Wilkins, I don’t like this pick as much as others. Now in two years, this could be a “Darius Leonard” type pick, where people hate it but it ends up being a great pick, only time will tell.
Sam Sinclair’s Grade: C
Kevin Hickey’s Grade: B