Colts' Jonathan Taylor is healthy and motivated

WESTFIELD, Ind. -- You might expect that it would require a considerable feat to impress one of the leading rushers in NFL history.

And Frank Gore would agree.

The former NFL great, third on the league's all-time rushing list, hosted a group of young running backs in South Florida during the offseason. They came to see first-hand how Gore prepared his body to withstand 16 seasons at one of the game's most punishing positions.

But by the end of their weeks of workouts, it seems the biggest impression was not left by Gore but, rather, by Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor .

"Man!" Gore told ESPN this week. "Training with [Taylor], you could see it. He's got even better. JT is built different, man."

Taylor's relentless approach to his work and his mastery of things like the footwork drills the group performed left Gore in amazement. It led to a very bold prediction that he does not give lightly.

"If he stays healthy, I won't be surprised if he gets 2,000 [yards]," Gore said. "With his ability and with the way he moves, it's crazy. I already knew he was fast. But what I like is how he moves in small spaces, man. I didn't think he had that."

One year after Taylor spent training camp embroiled in a contract standoff with the Colts that included a trade demand and ugly exchanges, things could not be more different. Taylor signed a $42 million contract extension last fall, and now, according to Gore, Colts coaches and teammates, he appears primed for a huge season.

And those offseason workouts with Gore are among the reasons Taylor is in optimum condition and thinking big about 2024. He believes his injuries are behind him and sees a return to the gaudy numbers he posted in 2021, when he set franchise records with 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns -- stunning numbers for a team that can claim three Hall of Fame running backs in its Indianapolis era.

"That's why I work the way I do, because really, when I'm healthy [I produce]," Taylor said this week after a steamy, mid-afternoon practice that the South Florida sessions prepared him for. "My rookie year, healthy. And I had a really good year. Second year, healthy. Had a really good year.

"I know what I can do when I'm healthy."

Talyor rushed for an eye-popping 2,980 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first two seasons, more than any player in that span. But in a league that moves on quickly, that was practically eons ago. The past two seasons have been good but hardly great for Taylor, remembered as much for the time he spent on the sideline as for his accomplishments on the field.

Taylor missed 13 of a possible 34 games between 2022 and 2023. He did not come anywhere close to 1,000 rushing yards in either season and has just a single 100-yard rushing game in his past 14 contests. He's still just 25, but there is no time to waste.

So, with his health intact this offseason, Taylor prioritized his preparation.

The group workouts included Taylor, Gore, Gore's son (and Buffalo Bills rookie) Frank Gore Jr ., Colts running back Evan Hull , San Francisco 49ers rookie Isaac Guerendo and University of Miami back Damien Martinez. The workouts were tough. When doing various circuits, they would rest no more than 90 seconds to keep the heart rate elevated, Taylor said.

"In a game, you could be going on a 13-, 14-play drive," he said. "The defense might get a turnover and now you're right back on the field. The heart rate's right back up again. So, can you fight through that in the South Florida heat?"

Taylor proved that he could. And in doing so, he set a high bar for his counterparts.

"JT is actually the one who set the good examples for the young guys with how he worked," Gore said.

Said Taylor: "Frank was doing the same things that we were doing: Sleds, running, sprints. But it wasn't [about] asking him about how he played and what he did. It was really just watching him in person. That was the coolest part.

"Because a lot of times you speak to some of these all-time greats and they tell you what they did. But being able to be there in person and actually see it, I'm like, 'OK, if you're doing this now, I can only imagine how you were working back then [as a player].' It inspires you. You see what it takes to be great."

Now, the fruits of that preparation are evident on the field. Taylor has been one of the stars of this training camp, and the Colts believe they're seeing a different version of Taylor than they've seen recently.

"JT looks phenomenal out here," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. "He's running around, he's moving, he's got great energy, fired up ... I think he's in a great spot."

It's not only that the injuries are behind Taylor. The controversy is too. Taylor still won't delve much into the past, perhaps understandable given the rancor that persisted from July 2023 through October, when Taylor and the Colts finally reached an agreement on the extension. But he maintains that he never wanted to leave Indianapolis despite the trade demand. Still, leaving was on the table at one point. The Colts, according to multiple sources, briefly allowed Taylor and his agent to explore trade options.

Ultimately, the situation concluded the way Taylor had hoped: With him staying with the team that drafted him in 2020. His connection to the Colts now feels stronger, he said.

"The guys in this building, they know me," Taylor said. "They know how I work, they know how I have their backs every time I step on the field. So, it was a big boost and a big plus for me because I just have that confidence in my teammates and they have that confidence in me."

Among those teammates: quarterback Anthony Richardson . Taylor's late start to last season meant Taylor and Richardson played just two snaps together during Richardson's rookie season. Taylor's Week 5 debut against the Tennessee Titans came in the same game in which Richardson sustained a season-ending shoulder injury.

With Richardson back in the lineup, the Colts now have two prolific runners in the same backfield. That presents defenders with difficult decisions.

"I'm not going to lie, sometimes you've got to guess," linebacker Zaire Franklin said of defending the duo. "You guess wrong sometimes, but it's tough. I know being in a full-contact live situation, having to respect Anthony's legs and then tackle JT in space is easier said than done."

Likewise, there was nothing easy about Taylor's offseason workouts. And if those grueling sessions have their intended effect, maybe Taylor can make Gore's bold prediction seem a little less audacious.