Jul 28, 2026, 3:22 PM ET

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is expected to participate when the team opens training camp Wednesday despite entering the final year of his contract, according to The Indianapolis Star. General manager Chris Ballard downplayed the possibility of a repeat of the contract dispute that disrupted Taylor's 2023 camp, saying the 27-year-old is "in a great spot." Taylor signed a three-year, $42 million extension in October 2023 and has said he would love to remain with Indianapolis for the rest of his career. He started all 17 games in 2025, rushing 323 times for 1,585 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 46 receptions for 378 yards and two scores. That followed a 1,431-yard rushing season in 2024, giving Taylor consecutive years above 1,400 yards. Ballard declined to discuss negotiations but said the Colts continually work to retain their own players and would love to keep Taylor long term. No extension has been announced, but there is currently no indication that Taylor's contract situation will keep him off the field.--Bruno Mulé
Source: The Indianapolis Star

Jul 24, 2026, 3:59 PM ET

Indianapolis Colts running back Seth McGowan has a simple path to fantasy relevance: beat DJ Giddens for the job behind Jonathan Taylor. The seventh-round rookie ran for 725 yards and 12 touchdowns at Kentucky, with another 126 yards on 19 catches. There is some appeal here. McGowan has the size for short-yardage work, and Taylor handled 323 carries last season. The problem is that Indianapolis has not promised meaningful weekly touches to its backup, and Giddens owns better draft capital after going in the fifth round a year earlier. RotoBaller still has McGowan at rookie RB11, but neither Colts reserve is being drafted inside the top 70 backs. That makes McGowan a deep dynasty stash, not a redraft sleeper. Until he wins the RB2 job, he is mostly an insurance bet with no standalone value.--Bruno Mulé
Source: RotoBaller

Jul 22, 2026, 10:47 AM ET

Indianapolis Colts running back DJ Giddens rarely saw the field as a fifth-round rookie in 2025, and when he did, his 26 total carries amounted to only 96 rushing yards. The lack of moves made at the position this offseason indicates that the Colts still believe in his abilities, and he should be given every opportunity to serve as Jonathan Taylor's primary backup in his second season. When the team opens training camp with its first practice on July 29, Giddens will be competing with 2025 seventh-round pick Seth McGowan for a role that carries significant insurance upside for fantasy. Taylor touched the ball 369 times a season ago, and head coach Shane Steichen has spoken this offseason about the importance of taking some of that work off his plate, though the clear talent discrepancy between him and the other backs on the roster makes that an easier conversation to have in theory than in practice. Still, the battle between Giddens and McGowan will be one to watch, as it could dictate how FAAB or waiver priorities are spent down the road should Taylor miss any time in season.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jul 21, 2026, 4:01 PM ET

The Athletic's James Boyd suggests that Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor could be a hold-in when training camp begins. Taylor is entering the final year of the three-year, $42 million contract he signed with the team in October of 2023. He said he wants "to be a Colt for life," but if the two sides can't reach an amicable agreement before camp starts, Boyd thinks Taylor should hold in despite his legacy with the Colts already being solidified. The 27-year-old ranks first in franchise history in rushing touchdowns (69) and needs just 1,629 more rushing yards to surpass Hall of Famer Edgerrin James for the franchise lead. The star RB was still dealing with a lingering right-ankle injury from 2022 when he demanded a new contract three years ago, so he wasn't technically a hold-in during camp that summer. Despite being three years older, Taylor could have more leverage in negotiations this time around because he figures to be leaned on heavily early in 2026 with QB Daniel Jones coming off an Achilles tear in 2025. A hold-in this summer could make Taylor more of a bust candidate as an RB1, especially since the Colts will be mindful of his workload after leading the NFL with 323 rushing attempts last year in his sixth year in the league.--Keith Hernandez
Source: The Athletic - James Boyd

Jul 16, 2026, 12:19 PM ET

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is already the franchise's leader in rushing touchdowns (69) and needs just 1,629 more rushing yards to pass Hall of Famer Edgerrin James (9,226) for the franchise lead. Taylor's immediate future with the Colts is uncertain, however, as he enters the final year of an extension that he signed in 2023. When asked about his contract status, Taylor said he wants to be "a Colt for life," according to James Boyd of The Athletic. Boyd thinks that the 27-year-old former second-rounder in 2020 out of the University of Wisconsin should be a hold-in during training camp this summer as he negotiates a potential extension to remain in Indy beyond the 2026 season. Despite being three years older, Taylor might have more leverage in contract negotiations with franchise QB Daniel Jones rehabbing from a torn Achilles tendon. The three-time Pro Bowl RB led the NFL in carries (323) and rushing touchdowns (18) while rushing for 1,585 yards in 17 starts. The Colts are mindful that they might need to limit Taylor's touches as he heads into his seventh year, but at least early on with Jones being eased back in, the Colts figure to lean on Taylor out of the backfield. Taylor should still be considered a top-five fantasy RB, albeit one with mild bust potential due to all the tread already on his tires.--Keith Hernandez
Source: The Athletic - James Boyd

Jul 14, 2026, 9:13 AM ET

Seventh-round rookie running back Seth McGowan will have a chance to earn an important role for the Indianapolis Colts when the pads come on for training camp at the end of the month. McGowan will be competing with 2025 fifth-round pick DJ Giddens for the primary backup duties behind three-time Pro Bowler Jonathan Taylor, and the job has garnered added attention with rumblings that the team could be looking to limit Taylor's touches after he carried the ball a league-leading 323 times last season. Head coach Shane Steichen has pointed out the difficulty in taking his star running back off the field, and with Giddens coming off an uninspiring rookie season and the team spending only late Day 3 capital at the position, he could see another massive workload in 2026. Neither McGowan nor Giddens is being drafted within the top 70 running backs, and neither is expected to hold any standalone value in 2026 redraft leagues. However, any sign that one or the other has taken a lead in their battle to sit closer to Taylor on the depth chart would put them in position to hold down one of the league's most important insurance roles, and as such, reports out of Indianapolis' training camp should be followed closely.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jul 12, 2026, 1:55 PM ET

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said that the team finally confronted the wear and tear on their most explosive player, running back Jonathan Taylor, after he had a league-high 323 rushing attempts in 2025, according to Stephen Holder of ESPN. Taylor came out of last year mostly healthy, but their usage of their star RB is something they admit they need to navigate going into the 2026 season. "Obviously, he's a hell of a player," Steichen said. "It's hard to take him off the field when he's running so good." The 27-year-old former second-rounder from the University of Wisconsin in 2020 has rushed for 1,431 and 1,585 yards, respectively, in the last two seasons, and only he and Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens have had three or more seasons of 300 or more carries since 2020. Taylor has been durable despite his heavy usage, but the Colts are wondering aloud if it's sustainable. In a perfect world, Indy "would like to dial back" Taylor's touches. "We definitely need to find ways to take some of that workload off him," running backs coach DeAndre Smith said. Even with a potential reduced workload, JT should find enough volume to keep him in the RB1 conversation in fantasy as long as he stays healthy.--Keith Hernandez
Source: ESPN.com - Stephen Holder

Jul 4, 2026, 9:37 AM ET

As a rookie in 2025, Indianapolis Colts running back DJ Giddens was frequently held out of games as a healthy scratch, and across his nine appearances, he carried the ball only 26 times, failing to reach 100 yards on the season. Any significant additions to the Colts' running back room in the 2026 offseason could have theoretically left last year's fifth-round pick fighting for a roster spot, but with Indianapolis allowing both Ameer Abdullah and Tyler Goodson to depart in free agency and spending only a seventh-round pick on Kentucky's Seth McGowan in the 2026 NFL Draft, Giddens is right back in line to serve as Jonathan Taylor's primary backup. With Taylor handling an astronomical 86.6% of the team's running back carries in 2025, it's unlikely that the backup role provides any significant work barring a major philosophical shift or injury, neither of which can be ruled out following Taylor's 369-touch campaign. In a worst-case scenario where the three-time Pro Bowler is forced to miss significant time, Giddens and McGowan would likely split work, giving both a potential avenue to see their value rise and making them both worthwhile end-of-bench stashes in deep dynasty leagues.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jul 1, 2026, 11:23 PM ET

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor had a whopping 1,139 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns through the first 10 weeks of the 2025 season before quarterback Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending torn Achilles tendon. Indy's offense collapsed after Jones' injury, though, and defenses might not respect Jones as much if he's ready for the start of the 2026 season. With Taylor approaching the last year on his current deal, the Colts will need to decide if they want to give the 27-year-old a third big contract. ESPN's Ben Solak reminds us that Taylor's last contract negotiation with the Colts "got fairly icy." He's now three years older, and if the Colts' season goes south early in 2026 and they see a rebuild coming, a trade could be in the works. JT proved last year that he can still be one of the best RBs in the league despite having plenty of tread on his tires. Solak thinks the Bears and their ascending offense would make perfect sense for Taylor, with D'Andre Swift having not proven to be completely reliable as a go-to RB1.--Keith Hernandez
Source: ESPN.com - Ben Solak

Jun 19, 2026, 12:48 PM ET

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was one of just 11 RBs in 2025 to play every single game, which led to him carrying the ball 323 times, 12 more than any other player in the league, according to Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan. The 27-year-old has 1,551 carries in his NFL career, which could suggest he might be reaching that point where many RBs' production begins to dip. "That's a fair assessment," head coach Shane Steichen said when asked if he's considered dialing back Taylor's workload at all. "It's hard to take him off the field when he's running so good, but getting Seth McGowan in the fold and DJ Giddens, and see how those guys come along in training camp, and we'll go from there," Steichen added. Since entering the NFL in 2020, Taylor's 1,551 carries rank third-most in the league. JT was a Pro Bowler for the third time in 2025, reaching 1,585 rushing yards and a league-high 18 rushing touchdowns on a league-high 323 carries, adding a career-high 46 catches for 378 yards and two more TDs in 17 starts to finish behind only Christian McCaffrey in fantasy scoring. The Colts will surely be mindful of Taylor's workload in his seventh NFL campaign in 2026, but with little experience behind him in the backfield, he should still see high-end volume, making him an easy top-five RB target in fantasy drafts.--Keith Hernandez
Source: 107.5 The Fan - Kevin Bowen

Jun 18, 2026, 9:34 AM ET

When the Indianapolis Colts took running back Seth McGowan in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft, they added to a room in serious need of depth behind three-time Pro Bowler Jonathan Taylor. With Taylor playing in all 17 games and leading the NFL with 323 carries in 2025, there was little work to be split up behind him, and the next three backs on the roster combined for fewer than 50 attempts. Two of those backs, veterans Ameer Abdullah and Tyler Goodson, are no longer on the roster, leaving McGowan to battle it out with 2025 fifth-round pick DJ Giddens for the team's primary backup role. In a disappointing rookie season, Giddens was held out of several games as a healthy scratch while averaging only 3.7 yards per carry. With quarterback Daniel Jones potentially facing a ramp-up period to begin the year as he recovers from the Achilles injury sustained in December, the Colts' running game becomes all the more important, and a balance will need to be struck in preserving Taylor after 2025 marked his first full season since his 2021 breakout. A big, physical back, McGowan will have his chance to make an impression when the pads come on for training camp in late July. Whoever ultimately wins the job between McGowan and Giddens will have little standalone value behind Taylor, but in a run-heavy offense behind a running back with a history of missing time, the role comes with some of the highest insurance upside in the league.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jun 12, 2026, 12:10 PM ET

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor put together a dominant year in 2025, recording 1,963 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns on 369 touches. The 27-year-old averaged 4.9 yards per carry while also setting career-highs in targets (55), receptions (46), and receiving yards (378). Entering 2026, Taylor once again projects as the focal point of a Colts offense that will get quarterback Daniel Jones (Achilles) back from the Achilles injury that ended his 2025 season prematurely. However, fantasy managers may have a reason to be concerned about Taylor's ability to hold up after shouldering such a large workload last season. After recording 372 touches in 2021, Taylor proceeded to miss 16 games over a three-season span between 2022 and 2024. He also has a history of recurring ankle injuries, which could easily pop back up in 2026. While Taylor is still a high-level fantasy running back, dynasty managers may want to explore selling high on him for a monstrous package ahead of 2026.--Will Brady
Source: RotoBaller

Jun 11, 2026, 10:49 AM ET

Indianapolis Colts running back DJ Giddens was a healthy inactive for almost half of his 2025 rookie season, and he failed to impress on the limited work he did receive, averaging only 3.7 yards on his 26 rush attempts. That said, the depth behind All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor is dangerously thin, and Giddens is reportedly in competition with 2026 seventh-round pick Seth McGowan for one of the most valuable handcuff roles in the league. While Taylor managed to play all 17 games in 2025, that marked the first time he'd done so since his breakout 2021 campaign, and as one of the last true bell cows in the league, whoever lands closer to him on the depth chart will be viewed favorably by the dynasty community. Giddens and McGowan share similar body types and skill sets, and it's entirely possible that the loser of their training camp battle will again become a healthy inactive on game days, but the most likely scenario in the event of Taylor's absence would be some sort of committee split. Should Taylor go down to injury, both players are likely to see an immediate value spike, so regardless of how their competition plays out, Giddens remains an end-of-bench stash in all but the shallowest of dynasty leagues.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jun 9, 2026, 11:02 AM ET

Indianapolis Colts running back Seth McGowan was a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after an up-and-down collegiate career that saw him make stops at four different schools, but if he can beat out 2025 fifth-round pick DJ Giddens for the team's primary backup role behind Jonathan Taylor, he could soon be viewed as one of fantasy's most valuable insurance backs. While Giddens has the better draft capital and a more complete collegiate profile, he dealt with minor injuries as a rookie and was held out of several contests as a healthy scratch, only averaging 3.7 yards per carry on his limited opportunities. Like Giddens, McGowan is a big-bodied back and capable pass-catcher, meaning whoever earns the job could render the other a non-factor on gamedays. With pads yet to be donned, any competition between the two is purely speculative at this point, but their battle bears monitoring when training camps open in summer, and at RotoBaller's rookie RB11, McGowan is worthy of a bottom-of-the-roster spot in deep dynasty leagues, at least until depth charts are sorted.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller