Jonathan Taylor is one of the NFL’s best running backs.
And if the Indianapolis Colts have the kind of season they’re hoping for in 2026, Taylor could approach record-setting numbers.
NFL.com’s Chad Reuter is certainly optimistic about Taylor. In a new article this week, he predicts that Taylor will run for 2,000 yards this season.
“Last season, Taylor was on a tear before quarterback Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending injury,” Reuter writes. “A healthy Jones throwing to Alec Pierce, Keenan Allen, Josh Downs and Tyler Warren should prevent defenses from focusing solely on Taylor and allow the veteran back to break off some big runs on his way to the magical 2,000-yard mark.”
Reuter has a point that the Colts were putting up insane offensive efficiency numbers when Jones was healthy. Taylor was a big part of that.
It’s impossible to know whether the health will be better for Indy in 2026, but if it is, look out.
Jonathan Taylor Prediction
Can Taylor set a Colts record and hit that impressive 2,000-yard milestone? He’s got a chance.
Things will have to go well, of course, and so it’s worth looking at what Taylor has done before to see if he could do this.
Taylor’s career-high yardage came in 2021 when he ran for 1,811 yards on 332 carries (and he had 18 touchdowns). That year, he averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
Last season, Taylor had 323 carries for 1,585 yards and 18 touchdowns, a 4.9 yards per carry average.
The whole Colts offense dropped off after Jones’ injury, though, including Taylor. Still, it’s clear that 2,000 yards is a lot of yards.
It seems like he’d probably need a career-high in carries, maybe in the 350-to-375 range. He’d need to maintain his efficiency at that workload and average 5.0-plus yards per carry. And he’d need to stay healthy all season.
Even then, it’d be quite the feat.
Comparing to Saquon Barkley
The most recent NFL running back to get up to the 2,000-yard mark was Saquon Barkley in 2024 for the Philadelphia Eagles.
So how did he do that? With a similar formula discussed above.
Barkley was given 345 carries that year (in just 16 games, as he sat out the final game of the regular season with playoff positioning locked up). He ran for 2,005 yards.
It was a career-best 5.8 yards per carry for Barkley that came with the largest workload of his career. It was the perfect storm.
Taylor has actually been more consistent in his career than Barkley, but he’s never had everything come together quite as well as it did for Barkley in 2024.
In three of the last four seasons, Taylor has missed games. He also hasn’t been at five yards per carry or better since that aforementioned 2021 season.
So a 2,000-yard prediction for Taylor is certainly bold. Colts fans would love to see him make a run at it.
Colts’ Jonathan Taylor Prediction Would Make NFL History