{"id":254436,"date":"2025-11-14T10:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T15:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=254436"},"modified":"2025-11-13T19:58:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:58:54","slug":"colts-star-jonathan-taylor-can-go-down-as-a-top-15-running-back-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/14\/colts-star-jonathan-taylor-can-go-down-as-a-top-15-running-back-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Colts Star Can Go Down as a Top-15 Running Back of All Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Taylor is perhaps the best running back in the NFL. But can he become one of the 15 greatest running backs in NFL history?<\/p>\n

This season, Taylor is making a case<\/a> for the NFL MVP award. The Indianapolis Colts’ superstar is having a phenomenal season. He\u2019s leading the league in carries (189), yards per carry (6.0), rushing yards (1,139), and rushing touchdowns (15).<\/p>\n

Taylor was spectacular during the recent win over the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> in Berlin. He rushed for a whopping 244 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Taylor also caught three passes for 42 yards. His biggest highlights of the game were his final two touchdowns, which were an 83-yard run with just over six minutes remaining in regulation and the game-winning eight-yarder in overtime.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Taylor has been one of the league\u2019s top running backs ever since his rookie year, when he rushed for 1,169 yards. However, he has a ways to go until he\u2019s considered a top-15 running back of all time.<\/p>\n

Colts Star Jonathan Taylor Can Go Down as a Top-15 Running Back of All Time<\/h2>\n

Who Are the Top 15 Running Backs in NFL History?<\/h3>\n

There, of course, isn\u2019t an official \u201cGreatest 15 Running Backs of All Time\u201d list. Such a list, though, must include Jim Brown. Although he played only nine seasons (1957-1965), many consider him the greatest running back in NFL history. Brown led the Cleveland Browns<\/a> to an NFL championship, won three MVP awards, and led the league in rushing eight times.<\/p>\n

Walter Payton also has to be on the list. During his 13-year career, he recorded 16,726 rushing yards (second-most all time) won an MVP, and powered the Chicago Bears<\/a> to a victory in Super Bowl XX.<\/p>\n

And you can\u2019t forget about the great Barry Sanders. The Detroit Lions<\/a> legend only played 10 seasons in the league. However, he rushed for over 1,000 yards each year, including a career-high 2,053 in 1997 when he won MVP.<\/p>\n

Other running backs who should be considered in the top-15 of all time include players like Emmitt Smith<\/a>, Eric Dickerson, O.J. Simpson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Earl Campbell, and Marcus Allen.<\/p>\n

Will It Happen?<\/h3>\n
\"Jonathan
Oct 19, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) moves the ball in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Colts are the league\u2019s most surprising team this season, coming out of nowhere and posting an 8-2<\/a> record. Jonathan Taylor has been the constant engine keeping Indy\u2019s offense on track.<\/p>\n

Again, Taylor is playing like an MVP. However, it\u2019ll be difficult for him to win the award, seeing that a non-quarterback hasn\u2019t won it since 2012 (running back Adrian Peterson).<\/p>\n

An MVP award and another rushing title (he won one in 2021) will increase his chances of becoming a top-15 running back of all time. He can also reach that status one day if he can stay consistent for years to come.<\/p>\n

Taylor obviously has to stay healthy. He missed a total of 16 games from 2022 to 2024. Fortunately, though, he\u2019s managed to dodge the injury bug this season.<\/p>\n

Right now, Taylor has 7,152 career rushing yards, ranking 72nd<\/a> in NFL history. He\u2019s only 26 years old, so he certainly has time to climb up the list.<\/p>\n

When his career is said and done, don\u2019t be surprised to see Jonathan Taylor referred to as one of the 15 greatest running backs ever. The talent is definitely there.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Lisi Niesner – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Taylor is perhaps the best running back in the NFL. But can he become one of the 15 greatest running backs in NFL history? This season, Taylor is making a case for the NFL MVP award. The Indianapolis Colts’ superstar is having a phenomenal season. He\u2019s leading the league in carries (189), yards per […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":254671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_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":[12,6431],"tags":[7800,6237],"class_list":["post-254436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colts","category-nfl-teams","tag-indianapolis-colts-news","tag-jonathan-taylor"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254436","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\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254436"}],"version-history":[{"count":72,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254675,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254436\/revisions\/254675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}