2021 Jonathan Taylor Player Profile

As we gear up to the start of the NFL season, Football Absurdity is going to bring you a comprehensive breakdown of every notable player that will be available in fantasy football drafts. Jonathan Taylor had a great fantasy rookie season. He’s all upside: There’s literally no reason to not put him right up in the top tier of running backs. (Editor’s note: Mmm, I don’t know)

2021 Jonathan Taylor ADP and AAV:

Average Draft Position: RB7, Pick 7
Average Auction Value: $60.7

Jonathan Taylor Statistics:

2021 Jonathan Taylor Overview

In 2020, Jonathan Taylor was the rookie back to have. Despite breaking 68 rushing yards only once in his first 9 games, Taylor turned it up in the back 7 and finished as a top-8 back in most formats. With the extremely flappable Carson Wentz taking the helm, I fully expect the Colts to lean on their strong backfield game, which also includes target monster, Nyheim Hines. (Editor’s Note: Let the hype bunnies slap themselves on the back by taking Jonathan Taylor in the first round, while you get Nyheim Hines a bazillion picks later)

PFF ranks the Colts’ offensive line as second overall, behind only the Browns. In 2020, the main competition to Taylor in terms of workload was Marlon Mack. Mack returns, but his health has been spotty. Taylor gets the scores, too, rushing for 11 TDs in 2020.  Plus, surely Frank Reich can see that the bulk of the talent lies with Taylor. (Editor’s Note: “the bulk” is exactly what led to Taylor running into the back of his lineman on half his drives last year)

2021 Jonathan Taylor Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:

Auction Value: $60
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!

I’m passing on Taylor only for CMC or Dalvin Cook. There’s a lot of tier-1 RB talent out there, this year: Alvin Kamara, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley. EZ-kill Elliott, etc. But unlike those guys, who have had durability questions raised recently or have Taysom Hill questions raised recently, Taylor, on the other hand, has nothing holding back his extreme potential. (Editor’s note: Other than Nyheim Hines, and Marlon Mack, and Carson Wentz. Like you just said!)

I’ve been collecting a lot of data from mock auctions with most or all human participants. I’ve seen Taylor go anywhere between $54 and $67 and, no, that $67 wasn’t my bidding. Even though I’m high on Taylor, I still only have him listed at $60. This is because with such a glut of tier 1 running backs, I like to wait and see how the market will play out if Taylor is nominated too early for me to have already done this. If tier 1 guys have been going for $5+  their projected value, as they usually do, I’ll bid up to $65 and usually get Taylor. But with all-human mocks, sometimes those RBs don’t all fetch a huge price tag: I’ve seen Taylor go for under $60 as many times as I’ve seen him go for mid-$60s.

Best Case Scenario:

Taylor falls to the middle of round 1 or under $60 and delivers a #1 overall finish. Or, you reach for him and he delivers a #1 overall finish. Either way he has #1 overall potential. (Editor’s Note: He doesn’t even have #1 overall potential in the AFC South, not as long as Derrick Henry exists!)

Worst Case Scenario:

Wentz really cools off the Colts’ offense, and Taylor has fewer scoring opportunities. Still, a young, gifted back behind one of the best offenses in the league? Maybe RB6 in a worst-case scenario. (Editor’s Note: you and I have different definitions of “worst case scenario.”)

Check out all our 2021 player profiles as we publish them, here. 

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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]

[Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Jonathan_Taylor_Thomas.jpg  under SA cc-2.0]