Friday, April 24, 2020

New on SI: Colts Select RB Jonathan Taylor with No. 41 pick in 2020 NFL Draft

The Indianapolis Colts picked Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor at No. 41 overall the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Indianapolis Colts selected RB Jonathan Taylor with the No. 41 pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. New Jersey born and raised, Taylor was a star running back and also excelled at track and field at Salem High School. A three-star recruit, Taylor racked up 4,642 rushing yards and 51 touchdowns with the Spartans. A lot of that was posted during his senior season, as he set a New Jersey state record with 2,815 rushing yards.

After first committing to Rutgers University, Taylor changed his mind and enrolled at Wisconsin instead. That was a good decision, as the Scarlet Knights posted a 7-29 record over three years while the Badgers were 31-10 and went to three straight Bowl games. Taylor was talked about as the best pure runner in the 2020 NFL Draft. He has a unique blend of size, speed and vision that leads to some comparisons to Dallas Cowboys superstar Ezekiel Elliott. Taylor is patient, giving his blockers time to find their assignments in both zone and gap schemes. Once he gets past the line of scrimmage, the real show starts.

Taylor is a big-bodied back with the ability to blow by defenders with impressive burst and speed. He also maintains his balance quite well and is difficult to bring down. He has the build of a quality pass-protector and, while he isn’t fully polished yet, a foundation is in place. The same can be said for Taylor as a receiving threat out of the backfield as he had a career high 252 receiving yards and five TD during his senior season. To top it all off, Taylor is a very bright player and a great locker room influence.

Here’s why SI’s Kevin Hanson ranked Taylor as the No. 29 overall player on his big board:

Rushing for more than 6,100 yards and 50 touchdowns in his three-year collegiate career, Taylor has the size, power and speed to break tackles and run away from defenders. While he was more involved as a receiver as a junior, Taylor has had some issues with ball security and handled a massive workload with 968 total touches while in Madison.

2019 stats (Junior; Wisconsin): 2,003 rush yards, 21 TD, 252 receiving yards, 5 TD, (14 games)

2018 stats (Sophomore; Wisconsin): 2,194 rush yards, 16 TD, 60 receiving yards (13 games)

2017 stats (Freshman; Wisconsin): 1,977 rush yards, 13 TD, 95 receiving yards, (14 games)

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