RADIO
Seth McGowan is Unlikely to See Consistent Role
Indianapolis Colts running back Seth McGowan has barely seen the field over the first two games of the regular season. Heading into Week 3, McGowan has registered two carries for zero yards and one reception for zero yards. The 24-year-old is unlikely to have standalone value while Jonathan Taylor is healthy. Taylor is the workhorse back, and McGowan only saw the field for six percent of the offensive snaps last week. He remains worth stashing because he could see a significant role if Taylor ever goes down with an injury. Fantasy managers shouldn't bother starting McGowan in any formats ahead of the Week 3 matchup against the Houston Texans.
Source: Pro Football Reference
Source: Pro Football Reference
Jonathan Taylor An Elite Must-Start RB1 In Week 3 vs Texans
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor's career would likely be on a Hall of Fame trajectory had he not missed so much time due to injuries in his first six seasons in the NFL. He's showing no signs of slowing down this season. Through two games, he's rushed for 190 yards and four rushing touchdowns and caught seven of his eight targets for another 63 yards. His efforts have him as the fourth-highest scoring running back in PPR fantasy leagues this year. Houston is allowing opponents 3.9 yards per carry this season, which sits around league average. It's possible Taylor has a bigger receiving role this game, as Colts WR1 Alec Pierce (heel) won't be playing due to a heel injury. Game script shouldn't be an issue for Taylor -- typically, he sees less work when his team is getting blown out, but Houston's offense hasn't blown out a team with their starting quarterback active in over a year. Taylor has RB1 overall upside in every week he's healthy and active, and should be locked into starting lineups in all leagues.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
Seth McGowan Is a Pure Contingency Play
Indianapolis Colts running back Seth McGowan has barely touched the ball through two games, but his spot on the depth chart is what keeps him interesting. McGowan caught one pass for no gain in Week 1, then had two carries for no yards against Kansas City. Jonathan Taylor has handled 43 carries and seven receptions over that same stretch, so there is no standalone role to chase. McGowan is still listed directly behind Taylor, though, and DJ Giddens has been inactive for both games. The rookie has played just 11.1% of the offensive snaps, which makes this a pure contingency bet. RotoBaller includes McGowan among its high-upside handcuffs and ranks him 52nd overall on the Week 3 waiver board, with an add recommendation in 14-team leagues. He is not worth forcing onto a shallow roster, but deeper-league managers looking for a direct backup to one of the league's busiest backs can justify stashing him now.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Jonathan Taylor Maintains Elite Fantasy RB1 Status In Week 2 Loss
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor reminded the world why he's one of the best backs in the NFL with another two-touchdown performance. He rushed 24 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns, and hauled in all four of his targets for 40 yards. That amounted to 29.2 PPR fantasy points. Taylor was the lone bright spot on an offense that struggled, and is a big reason why the Colts made it a competitive game. The Chiefs were regularly in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage to meet him -- Taylor averaged just 3.8 yards per carry on the night, but it wasn't his fault. The receiving usage he's had is quite encouraging as well. He was targeted just over 3.2 times per game in 2025, but has eight targets through two games for an average of four. Indy would benefit greatly from getting him the ball a few more times, and he's earned more receiving work. The Houston Texans defense is up next, but Taylor should be locked into starting lineups in all leagues for Week 3 anyway. He can put up big numbers in any week against any defense while healthy.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
Jonathan Taylor A Fantasy RB1 Even In Tough Week 2 Matchup
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is a must-start running back with RB1 overall potential in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs. "RB1 overall potential" is a bit of a formality in this case, as without pass-catching upside and against a defense that absolutely dominated in Week 1, it may be tough sledding for Taylor. However, he's one of the NFL's best running backs when healthy, and he scored 25.1 PPR fantasy points in Week 1 by rushing 19 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns and catching three of his four targets for 23 yards. He lost a fumble in that game, but the Colts won't stop giving him the ball because of it. The only thing he "lacks" from a fantasy perspective is elite receiving upside -- he doesn't get fed passes like RBs Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs of the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions do. And Taylor is a game script-sensitive player, as he tends to have his monster games in wins. Still, there isn't a world in which Taylor shouldn't be locked in to starting lineups as an RB in fantasy football for Week 2, and his upside is fantastic.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Seth McGowan Remains a Worthy Deep-League Handcuff Running Back
A seventh-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Indianapolis Colts running back Seth McGowan has begun his first NFL season in a reserve role behind superstar Colts back Jonathan Taylor. As long as Taylor remains healthy, McGowan is highly unlikely to see a fantasy-relevant workload. In the Colts' 41-23 Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the 23-year-old recorded zero carries and one catch for zero yards on one target. Still, McGowan cemented his status as the Colts' RB2, as he was the only back besides Taylor to see the field against Baltimore. Taylor has recorded over 700 touches since the start of the 2024 season, and he appears to be on his way to another massive workload in 2026. If he were to go down with an injury at any point, McGowan could immediately vault into fantasy relevance. In deeper leagues, McGowan could be worth targeting on the waiver wire for his handcuff appeal.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Jonathan Taylor Opens the Season with a Two-Touchdown Performance
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor totaled 19 carries, 98 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns during Sunday's Week 1 loss against the Baltimore Ravens. He also caught three of four targets for an additional 23 receiving yards. The Colts came up short in Week 1, but it certainly wasn't Taylor's fault. He picked up right where he left off in the first half of last season with yet another multi-touchdown game. Through the first 10 weeks last year, he scored a whopping 17 touchdowns while ranking as the RB1 in PPR leagues. In fact, during that span, he scored 25.1 points more than the RB2, Christian McCaffrey. He also had a torrid stretch where he recorded five different three-touchdown games within eight weeks. We'll see if 2026 looks anything like 2025 for Taylor, but at the very least, he's off to a super impressive start. It's also worth noting that he continues to have a stronghold on the backfield volume, as none of the Colts' other running backs registered a carry on Sunday. Taylor finds himself in the mid-to-high RB1 range heading into Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
DJ Giddens a Healthy Scratch for Season Opener
Indianapolis Colts running back DJ Giddens (coach's decision) is a healthy scratch for Sunday's Week 1 contest against the Baltimore Ravens. We already knew that Giddens had fallen to the No. 3 spot on the depth chart after rookie Seth McGowan had an impressive camp, but we weren't necessarily expecting him to be inactive altogether. With that being said, in addition to a mediocre camp performance, Giddens produced just 96 rushing yards on 26 carries as a rookie last year, so he's clearly not a vital part of the offense. Between Jonathan Taylor and McGowan, the Colts will carry just two running backs into Sunday's season opener.
Source: Indianapolis Colts
Source: Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor is a Top-Tier Start in Week 1
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is a high-end RB1 to start the 2026 season against the Baltimore Ravens at home in Week 1. Interestingly, the Week 1 matchup featuring Taylor (1,585 rushing yards in 2025) and Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (1,595) marks just the fourth game in NFL history to open the season with opposing rushers who each surpassed 1,500 yards the prior season, according to Next Gen stats. Last year, the Ravens' defense ranked 18th against the run, and they will again be without defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) this Sunday, which bodes well for Taylor if he runs between the tackles. In 2025, Taylor had a 56% inside-the-tackles rushing rate, his lowest since 2021, and he faced a stacked box only 17.6% of the time, one of the lowest of all qualified rushers in 2025. Taylor, who led all running backs last year in rushing attempts (323), should dominate opportunities in the Colts' backfield, while also seeing some looks in the passing game. Last year, Taylor had a 15.9% target share and ran an average of 20 routes per game, which is a bonus for managers in PPR formats. Fantasy managers in nearly every format probably drafted Taylor in the first or early second round to be their RB1, and he is a must-start against the Ravens in Week 1.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
DJ Giddens Off the Fantasy Radar Almost Entirely
Indianapolis Colts running back DJ Giddens' fantasy value has taken an enormous hit this offseason. He was once projected to be the clear-cut No. 2 running back and an intriguing handcuff behind Jonathan Taylor, but he instead fell to third on the depth chart and is now at risk of playing solely on special teams. In past years, the Colts have shown a willingness to feed Taylor on almost every rushing play, leaving very few carries for the No. 2 or 3 players on the depth chart. This year, Giddens lost his backup role to Seth McGowan after the former had a quiet training camp and the latter made a very positive impression. In the event of an injury to Taylor, Giddens' ceiling is a low-end RB3/flex in deeper leagues, and that's only if McGowan struggles. There's a nearly impossible path to production for Giddens, who can be avoided in all redraft leagues and dropped to waivers in most dynasty formats.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Seth McGowan's Long Road Leads to the Colts' RB2 Job
Indianapolis Colts running back Seth McGowan took a long route to his current spot behind Jonathan Taylor. Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star detailed the difficult road McGowan traveled after his career at Oklahoma ended following a 2021 arrest, with stops at Texas College, Butler Community College, New Mexico State and Kentucky before the Colts drafted him in the seventh round this spring. The football climb continued once he arrived. McGowan impressed Indianapolis with his physical running and receiving ability during camp, and he has now moved ahead of DJ Giddens on the current depth chart after opening the preseason behind him. That makes the rookie considerably more interesting for fantasy. Taylor still dominates this backfield, so there isn't much standalone value to chase right now. McGowan has nevertheless gone from a seventh-round flier to the Colts' No. 2 back, giving him real handcuff value if his role is ever forced to grow.
Source: Joel A. Erickson
Source: Joel A. Erickson
Seth McGowan Requires Patience in Deeper Fantasy Leagues
Indianapolis Colts running back Seth McGowan is more of a bench swing than somebody fantasy managers should expect to use anytime soon. The seventh-round rookie made the 53-man roster after rushing for 725 yards and 12 touchdowns at Kentucky last season, and the Colts liked the physicality he showed throughout the preseason. There is still somebody in his way before Jonathan Taylor, though. Indianapolis currently lists DJ Giddens second on the depth chart and McGowan third, leaving the rookie without much of a standalone role heading into Week 1. The good news is that the Colts kept only three running backs on the active roster, so an injury could change things quickly. McGowan is rostered in just 1% of Yahoo leagues and sits in the 14-team range on the current waiver list. That's where he belongs for now. Deep benches can take the shot, but managers in standard leagues do not need to force it.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Colts Running Back Seth McGowan Turning Heads In Preseason
Indianapolis Colts backup running back Seth McGowan is projected to win the handcuff job to lead back Jonathan Taylor, according to The Athletic's James Boyd. In an August 29 article, Boyd wrote, "McGowan has clearly won the second-string job thanks to his physicality and reliable hands out of the backfield." The seventh-round pick out of Kentucky in the 2026 Draft, McGowan stands at 6-foot-1 and is 223 pounds, offering big-time size out of the backfield, but as Boyd points out, he can catch the ball as well and thus be involved in the passing game. McGowan had two catches for five yards each in the three preseason games and rushed 17 times for 64 yards. With McGowan seeming to prove himself as the backup to Taylor, look for him as a very late-round pick or a potential early-season waiver-wire option.
Source: The Athletic, James Boyd
Source: The Athletic, James Boyd
Jonathan Taylor Poised for Another Productive Year
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is poised to have another very productive season in 2026. Taylor ranked as the overall RB4 in PPR leagues last year, and even that finish was somewhat underwhelming relative to how dominant he started the season. Through the first 10 weeks last year, he scored a whopping 17 touchdowns while ranking as the RB1 in PPR leagues. In fact, during that span, he scored 25.1 points more than the RB2, Christian McCaffrey. He also had a torrid stretch where he recorded five different three-touchdown games within eight weeks. In other words, Taylor was playing at an MVP level before cooling off after the bye week (and after quarterback Daniel Jones went down with an Achilles injury). Jones is healthy again, restoring a semblance of life to this offense and potentially reigniting Taylor's upside as the overall RB1 if he can stay healthy. He is currently being drafted in the middle of the first round of fantasy drafts, typically as the fourth running back off the board.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Jonathan Taylor Carries More Risk at His First-Round Price
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor isn't falling because his role suddenly changed. It's the price after a season that will be tough to repeat. Taylor led the NFL with 323 carries and scored 20 total touchdowns in 2025, finishing with 1,585 rushing yards and another 378 through the air. Indianapolis has openly spent camp looking for a dependable No. 2 back who can help keep him fresh after that workload, with DJ Giddens and Seth McGowan making the initial 53-man roster behind him. Taylor is still the clear starter, and the Colts signed him to an extension in August. This isn't a playing-time scare. The risk is paying a first-round price after he handled more carries than anyone in football. RotoBaller's Aug. 30 early-round avoids piece also noted how much game script mattered last year: Taylor averaged 31.5 PPR points in Colts wins and 12.4 in losses. He's still an elite fantasy back. There's just less margin for error at the current cost.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
