INDIANAPOLIS — When the Colts balked at the idea of signing Jonathan Taylor to a long-term extension, the debate locally and nationally focused less on his game-breaking ability than the value of signing any running back to a big-money, long-term extension in the pass-happy, modern-day NFL.
The conversation might already be changing.
Three weeks into the first year of Taylor’s three-year, $42 million extension, passing numbers around the NFL have plummeted, rushing numbers are rising and three of the NFL’s top six rushers — Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley, Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs and Baltimore’s Derrick Henry — signed big deals in free agency this offseason.
All of it happening while a healthy, rejuvenated Taylor looks like himself again in Indianapolis, serving as the driving force for an offense searching for consistency in the passing game.
“J.T. is running it really good right now,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “He’s seeing it well, he’s being patient, he’s hitting the holes. Obviously, hit the home run (against the Bears). … We showed it in the team meeting this morning. The way he was able to press, cut back behind it and then get front side again, it was big time.”
Taylor’s 29-yard touchdown run was the highlight of a 23-carry, 110-yard performance, the big day coming on the heels of a 12-carry, 103-yard performance against the Packers in a game that left plenty of people wondering why the running back was not a bigger part of the Indianapolis game plan at Lambeau Field.
Five seasons into his career, Taylor remains the Colts’ best offensive weapon, his explosiveness setting him apart from the rest of the field at running back. For years, the NFL has considered running back to be a plug-and-play position, but Taylor’s vision, change-of-direction and speed have always made him a threat to turn any run into a chunk play.
The breakaway speed remains impressive, but it has been Taylor’s vision and patience that have been at the forefront the past two weeks, sending the running back bobbing and weaving through traffic while he sets up defenders, drawing them into the path of a blocker before cutting back the other way and turning on the jets.
"I think it's a really unique strength of his,” Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “Some of those holes in the zone running game – maybe they develop later in the process or a linebacker reacts to something he sees from J.T., and that opens up maybe a front side gap a little later than maybe you would expect. He's got quite the knack for seeing that, feeling that, and then acceleration, once that decision’s made, once that read is made for him, is like no other.”
The ability to put one over the left-field wall has been critical to a Colts offense that has struggled to string together drives this season, in large part because of starting quarterback Anthony Richardson’s inefficiency as a passer.
Taylor has nine carries of 10 yards or more the past two weeks, plus two catches of more than 18 yards on screen plays.
And it is no longer as easy as it has been in the past to focus a defense’s attention entirely on Taylor. Richardson is averaging 6.5 yards per carry as a runner in his own right, and even if he has been inconsistent as a passer, the young quarterback's ability to throw the deep ball has to discourage defensive coordinators from bringing their safeties forward.
A defense stacks the box to stop Taylor at its own peril.
“We’ve got a big challenge in Jonathan Taylor,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. “That challenge is intensified because of Richardson’s mobility, and their willingness to use schematics regarding Richardson’s mobility.”
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Richardson’s presence helps almost any running back.
Former Colts backup Zack Moss averaged 5.5 yards per carry in games Richardson started last season; Moss averaged 3.8 yards per carry the rest of the season.
Taylor, who has averaged 5.0 yards per carry in his five-year career, can take advantage of Richardson’s presence in ways other backs cannot.
“The vision and the patience he has, it’s the best I’ve been around,” Steichen said. “Without a doubt.”
The Colts knew all of Taylor’s strengths when they finally softened a hard-line stance on his extension last fall, ending months of drama by giving the running back the contract he’d hoped to land with the only team he’s known in the NFL.
The market appeared to soften a little bit behind him this offseason.
Barkley and Jacobs are both making more than $12 million per year in average annual value. Houston traded for former Bengals star Joe Mixon, then gave him more than $9 million per year despite a heavy career workload. Derrick Henry landed a two-year deal worth $8 million per year even though he’s 30 years old this season.
And offenses have unleashed their running backs on defenses in the first three weeks this season.
Faced with a cascade of defenses playing their secondaries back to prevent deep throws, NFL offenses are being forced to find answers to coverages designed to limit big yardage.
One of those answers has always been to let a talented running back carve through the light boxes in front of him, and now, those running backs are facing defenses constructed to stop the pass, full of personnel better suited to the passing game than playing downhill.
Indianapolis found itself on the wrong end of the conundrum in the season opener.
Playing back to limit the explosiveness of Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud, the Colts gave up 213 yards to Mixon and the rest of the Texans on the ground, then found themselves unable to handle the diverse, creative attack devised by Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur the next week before finally finding footing against an ugly Bears ground game this week.
“Teams want to see how you handle it,” Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. “There’s some good running backs in the league. Every week, you’re facing somebody that has the ability to run the ball. … I think that teams really realizing it, that if you’re one dimensional, it makes it a lot easier for the defense.”
The Colts cannot afford to be one-dimensional on offense right now.
Richardson is far too raw.
The good thing is they have a running back who can handle more than his fair share of the load.
Jonathan Taylor stats
Jonathan Taylor has rushed for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns on 51 carries this season, a 5.1-yard average. He has 3 catches for 57 yards. Taylor has rushed for 4,843 yards in his career on 976 attempts, a 5.0-yard average, and scored 43 touchdowns.
Jonathan Taylor contract
Jonathan Taylor signed a three-year, $42 million deal, with a $10,248,000 signing bonus and $26.5 million guaranteed, according to Spotrac.com . His base salary this season is $7,804,000 with a cap hit of $10,666,000 and a dead cap value of $23,152,445.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts signing Jonathan Taylor to $42-million deal looks smart as passing games decline
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