{"id":118083,"date":"2021-07-18T10:24:29","date_gmt":"2021-07-18T14:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=118083"},"modified":"2021-07-18T10:24:29","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T14:24:29","slug":"jonathan-taylor-fantasy-football-profile-2021-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/07\/18\/jonathan-taylor-fantasy-football-profile-2021-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan Taylor Fantasy Football Profile For the 2021 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/colts\/\" target=\"_self\">Indianapolis Colts<\/a> running back Jonathan Taylor had a lot of hype entering his rookie season. Selected in the second round, most expected Taylor to take the world by storm following Marlon Mack\u2019s Achilles injury. While he took some time to get going, Taylor eventually caught fire and dominated down the stretch. Heading into Year 2, can the Wisconsin product pick up where he left off as a rookie?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/profiles\/\" target=\"_self\"><strong><em>Fantasy Football Player Profiles<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>[pickup_prop id=&#8221;5422&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h2>2021 Fantasy Football Outlook: Jonathan Taylor<\/h2>\n<h3>2020 Recap<\/h3>\n<p>While he wasn\u2019t the first running back off the board, several analysts had Jonathan Taylor as the most talented running back in a stacked 2020 class. Selected by the Indianapolis Colts, fantasy owners everywhere were salivating at the idea of Taylor running behind that great offensive line with a checkdown-heavy quarterback in Philip Rivers.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, expectations went through the roof when Marlon Mack suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. Now with full control of the backfield, Taylor had every opportunity to be an RB1 the rest of the way. While he disappointed early, he turned into one of the most reliable runners in the league down the stretch. From Weeks 11 to 17, Taylor was the RB3 with 24.3 fantasy points per game. While 1.2 touchdowns per game over this stretch isn\u2019t sustainable, Taylor usually saw the field for 55-65% of the offensive snaps and handled the vast majority of the running back carries.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jonathan Taylor puts the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Colts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Colts<\/a> ahead! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ForTheShoe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#ForTheShoe<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JayT23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@JayT23<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MINvsIND?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#MINvsIND<\/a> on FOX<br \/>\ud83d\udcf1: NFL app \/\/ Yahoo Sports app: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gdttfTQjuY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/gdttfTQjuY<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tT0V4hBwYs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/tT0V4hBwYs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NFL (@NFL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFL\/status\/1307738089989652480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 20, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The biggest knock against Taylor\u2019s ceiling was the lack of work in the receiving game. After recording six targets in the first game of the season, Taylor never saw more than five in a single contest the rest of the way. Nyheim Hines had a clear grip on the receiving job, finishing his season with 63 receptions for 482 yards and four touchdowns. Taylor, by comparison, finished with just 36 receptions for yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n<h3>2021 Projection<\/h3>\n<p>Jonathan Taylor made the most out of his opportunities last year, and it\u2019s safe to say that he\u2019ll do it again in 2021. Rushing success is driven more by the offensive line than the actual runner, and Taylor should have one of the better run-blocking units in the league. Even following the retirement of Anthony Castonzo, Pro Football Focus still believes Indianapolis has the second-best offensive line in football.<\/p>\n<p>Taylor should be efficient with his touches, and he should receive a lot of him. Last year, Taylor finished with 232 of the Colts 405 running back rushing attempts (57%), and that number should only rise in Year 2. In addition to just being more comfortable in the offense, the Colts didn\u2019t add any competition for carries. Marlon Mack is back, but he\u2019s also coming off an Achilles injury. Historically speaking, running backs simply don\u2019t return to form after these types of injuries. Betting on Mack to see more than 50-75 touches is betting on an outlier performance, and good fantasy football players do not bet on outliers.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Since it\u2019s Marlon Mack day, this is what I could find on recent Achilles tears for RBs. <\/p>\n<p>-11 total since 2010<br \/>-2 returned to play the following season (Hunter, Oliver)<br \/>-6 never saw an NFL touch again<br \/>-6 had 196+ touch season prior to tear<br \/>-0 had&gt;85 touches in comeback year <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/APXmi1phSl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/APXmi1phSl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kyle_FFRecon (@Kyle_FFRecon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kyle_FFRecon\/status\/1372302909304627200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 17, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, it\u2019s not all good news for Jonathan Taylor. With Philip Rivers gone, the Colts <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/02\/18\/carson-wentz-traded-to-the\/\" target=\"_self\">downgraded at quarterback<\/a> by switching to Carson Wentz. Wentz was an absolute disaster last year, and he hasn\u2019t been an elite quarterback since his <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CowboysStats\/status\/1282852474081161221?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">outlier 2017 performance<\/a>. The offense will be worse, which means fewer scoring opportunities. Additionally, Wentz doesn\u2019t throw to running backs nearly as often as Rivers, which means fewer targets. Additionally, with Hines still around, Taylor won\u2019t even lead the running back room in targets.<\/p>\n<p>Seeing as the Colts probably won\u2019t be winning as often in 2021, Indianapolis will probably finish the season with fewer rushing attempts per game than they had last year. Assuming Taylor can earn 65% of the carries (roughly what he had down the stretch last year), then he should finish with approximately 230 carries for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns. As far as targets, he\u2019ll probably finish with 35 receptions for 300 yards and a score.<\/p>\n<h3>Jonathan Taylor Fantasy Football Average Draft Position<\/h3>\n<p>As of this posting, <a href=\"https:\/\/fantasydata.com\/nfl\/ppr-adp\/rb\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FantasyData.com<\/a> has Jonathan Taylor as the RB7 in average draft position. This puts him just behind guys like Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley and just ahead of other stars like Nick Chubb, Austin Ekeler, and Aaron Jones.<\/p>\n<p>Taylor certainly has the ability to finish in this range, but it feels like you\u2019re drafting him at his ceiling. The lack of receiving work is a serious concern, meaning that you\u2019d have to rely on elite rushing efficiency and scoring potential. Again, Taylor is talented and Indianapolis has a great offensive line, so this could happen, but it\u2019s not the safest bet in the world, especially with Carson Wentz limiting scoring opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I would happily take Elliott, Barkley, and Ekeler ahead of Taylor in PPR redraft formats, as all three players should have a much more reliable target share. Taylor and Chubb should have very similar finishes, while it\u2019s impossible to make any declarations on Aaron Jones without knowing what will happen to Aaron Rodgers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/profiles\/\" target=\"_self\"><strong><em>Fantasy Football Profiles<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"K9PghI-rSCJ9cOob3Hky7A\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1295822098\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'K9PghI-rSCJ9cOob3Hky7A',sig:'cEARvaY_fUjqJ4PeU81IvFSY0riPhy3eHswwZTZiG5s=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1295822098',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor set the world on fire as a rookie, but can he carry that fantasy football success into 2021?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":118084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[349,7810,6237],"class_list":["post-118083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","tag-fantasy-football-rankings","tag-indianapolis-colts-draft","tag-jonathan-taylor"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}