Two seasons ago, Jonathan Taylor nearly won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award. He was overshadowed by Los Angeles Rams Copper Cup receivers historic season, but Taylor had great form. He led the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns. He was named All-Pro.
He is now 24 years old and available in the trade.
The Indianapolis Colts gave Taylor permission to seek a trade on Monday. We can debate the value of a running back in the modern landscape, but if Taylor overcomes the injuries he picked up last season, it’s clear he can help many teams.
Here are the five teams that would get a big boost from adding Taylor to their offense:
Most teams going after Taylor have to consider themselves contenders. A team like the Arizona Cardinals would be better with Taylor, but he still doesn’t make the playoffs. It wouldn’t make sense to trade the assets in his favour.
Crows should consider themselves a competitor. Baltimore is changing their offense to be more pass-heavy, but they still have to have a great rushing offense due to the presence of quarterback Lamar Jackson. Baltimore has never had such an elite dating pairing with Jackson. The Ravens have JK Dobbins, but he’s also unhappy, and has never been in the top ten. What would the Ravens offense look like with great running alongside Jackson in the backfield? This could push Baltimore to a new level.
Miami doesn’t seem to put much weight at the running back position, but adding a third playmaker to complement receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle is interesting. The Dolphins rely on these two wide receivers, but some of the pressure on them will be relieved if Taylor is on offense. It doesn’t look like teams can cheat their safety measures to stop a running game, because Hill and Waddell might set them on fire from above. The Dolphins’ current staff of Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., and rookie De’Von Achane isn’t surprising anyone. It’ll work well enough because the offense as a whole is powerful, but imagine Taylor running against all those high safe looks.
The Bills don’t exactly swim in maximum space, so this seems like a long shot. But the Bills offense is very heavy. Josh Allen carries most of the load, Stefon Diggs is the only player with a skill position who’s played at the Pro Bowl level, and there’s not much else. James Cook is an interesting young player and Damien Harris is a solid runner among the tackles, but neither of them are quite like Taylor. The Bills are still in the Super Bowl window, and the addition of Taylor would add some much needed balance.
The Bengals have been very lukewarm about returning Joe Mixon this season. He’s finally back, with a huge pay cut. And his restructured two-year deal may prevent the Bengals from considering making an offer for Taylor. But Mixon’s numbers were down a lot last season and the Bengals didn’t have much support behind him. Cincinnati is clearly a competitor. The Bengals have plenty of leeway, though they’re clearly setting aside some of it for Joe Borough’s contract extension. Adding Taylor to the Bengals’ powerful offense might be an aggressive move, but it could push Cincinnati over the top in their title quest.
The Vikings moved on from Dalvin Cook this season. His former reserve Alexander Matteson is set to take over the captaincy, which he hasn’t done for an entire season. He has also never shown that he can be a dynamic player. The Vikings are out of the NFC North title and seem content with their backs, though Mattison isn’t proven and there isn’t a lot of depth in quality behind him. Taylor may help the Vikings resist the inevitable decline after their lucky run in 2022.