If and when training camp officially arrives, one of the biggest competitions on the Indianapolis Colts roster will be in the backfield between veteran Marlon Mack and rookie Jonathan Taylor.
Both have proven they can handle serious workloads as the lead back in an offense. Mack is coming off of a 247-carry, 1091-yard season in 2019 while Taylor was the most productive three-year running back in college football history.
The expectation—at least for 2020—is a split workload. That said, Pro Football Focus believes Taylor will wind up seeing the lion’s share of work over Mack.
Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni referred to the Mack-Taylor duo as a “one-one punch” following the 2020 NFL Draft, but it’s hard to imagine Taylor not earning a lion’s share of the work. He’s the more talented runner — one who has shown he can shoulder a heavy load — and his biggest weakness (receiving ability) is still likely an upgrade over what Mack brings to the table. That’s not to say Mack won’t get any work, but I expect the rushing output to be closer to a 2-to-1 split than the 1-to-1 split implied by Sirianni. Hines should remain the primary receiving target at the running back position for Indianapolis.
The Colts didn’t need to add Taylor to the backfield but the talent and price tag in the second round was simply too good to pass up. He’s clearly the future as Mack enters a contract year without talks of an extension.
But the 2020 season remains a mystery in terms of how the work will be split. Some believe Taylor will simply take over. Others see it more as a true 1-1 punch at the top of the depth chart.
However it falls, both Taylor and Mack will be seeing work throughout the 2020 season. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the rookie take over the backfield at some point during the campaign.