Wisconsin Football: Jonathan Taylor will be most impactful Round 2 pick

With the 41st pick, the Colts selected Wisconsin football’s Jonathan Taylor. How will Taylor fit with the Colts? Will he be able to contribute right away?

Jonathan Taylor left Wisconsin as arguably the most productive running back in college football history. Taylor finished with 6,174 rushing yards in just three seasons placing him sixth all time. Had he stayed for one more season he most likely would have beaten the record by a comfortable margin.

Quite frankly, it’s surprising somebody with that much production fell into the second round. But Taylor isn’t just all production. He has good measurables for the running back position at 5-foot-10, 226 pounds.

Taylor put on a show at the combine leading all running backs with a 4.39 40-yard dash time. He also showcased his athleticism with impressive broad and vertical jumps for somebody at his size.

The knocks on him coming out of Wisconsin included: ball security issues, potentially being worn down after a big workload at Wisconsin and lack of pass protection reps. These knocks plus the deep running back class, contributed to Taylor falling to the early second round. While these are fair complaints, I don’t believe they are enough to overshadow his proven track record.

While Taylor may be disappointed he wasn’t a first round pick, he should be excited he went to the best possible situation. The Colts are coming off a 7-9 season off the heels of Andrew Luck retiring abruptly in August of 2019.

Chris Ballard has done a great job reshaping this team while dealing with uncertainty at the quarterback position for the past few seasons. They have drafted and traded for high end young talent such as Quinten Nelson, Darius Leonard and DeForest Buckner. This past offseason they brought in veteran talent such as Phillip Rivers, Xavier Rhodes and Trey Burton.

Going to the Indianapolis Colts, and being able to run behind this stacked offensive line is going to a perfect fit for Taylor. Pro Football Focus ranked the Colts as their third-best offensive line in 2019, with second-year All-Pro Quinten Nelson having the best run blocking grade in the league (91.4). This combined with Taylor’s proven production should lead to instant results in 2020.

He will also be working with Tom Rathman, who has been coaching running backs for the past 23 years after a nine-year career in the NFL playing fullback. Rathman will be a great guy for Taylor to lean on to correct some of those issues in terms of ball security and pass protection.

Something worth noting is that the Colts still have Marlon Mack, who has proven to be a dependable back over the past two seasons. Taylor probably will start the season splitting carries with Mack, but he was drafted in the second round for a reason.

I believe Taylor’s power and explosiveness will impress coaches from day one which will lead to an increased role. Don’t be surprised if Taylor is resuming his workhorse role midway through the season.

Running behind this great line, I believe Taylor will have a similar impact in 2020 to what Ezekiel Elliott did in 2016.