RB · IND · GWTTKB

Jonathan Taylor — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 21.31 points per game in 2025, an ADP of 6.9, usage worth 17.1.

27 years old · 6 seasons of experience · 2020 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.
ADP 6.9
Consensus across 4 books, standard deviation 1.1, 2.6 picks between cheapest and priciest. Cheapest on espn, priciest on cbs.
SLEEPER6.8
ESPN8.1
YAHOO7.1
UNDERDOG7.8
CBS5.5
FFA6

Draft-room facts

Goes aroundRound 1, pick 7 in a 12-team draft
Positional rankRB4
Bye week13
ADP standard deviation1.1 picks

What we project for 2026

Our board has him at 292.1 points, 18.3 per game — 1,379 rushing yards, 13.9 rushing TDs, 34.2 catches. That is RB1, 6 overall.

The range runs from a floor of 14.4 points per game to a ceiling of 24.4, with the median at 18.3. Boom rate 34%, bust rate 21%. The spread is the actual bet, not the middle number.

He goes at 6.9 on consensus and our board has him 6. Those agree, so there is no market disagreement to exploit. The question is whether you want the profile, not whether it is mispriced.

Our written view

17 rushing TDs and a 2,378-yard full-season pace through the first 10 weeks last year, before Daniel Jones got hurt and the offense collapsed to a bottom-25 unit — a level of production almost no back is capable of hitting even for a hot stretch. The knock is entirely systemic (QB health, Pittman gone, unproven backup weapons), not about Taylor himself.

buy · high conviction · 2026-08

The offense he plays in, 2026

Indianapolis Colts returns 5 of 6 continuity slots, replacing wr1. Daniel Jones at quarterback, Shane Steichen as head coach, Jim Bob Cooter calling it. The offense projects to 32.5 pass attempts a game at high confidence and 26.1 rushes.

In: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (wr3), Deion Burks (wr5), Seth McGowan (rb3), Anderson Castle (rb4). Out: Michael Pittman Jr (wr1), Adonai Mitchell (wr4), Ameer Abdullah (rb3).

The projected carry split across the offense:

Jonathan Taylor 65.1%
DJ Giddens23%
Seth McGowan8.7%
Anderson Castle3.3%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

What the offense looks like: The Colts seriously need Daniel Jones to BE THAT GUY. Taylor, Downs, and especially Alec Pierce rely on having a highly productive passing game that helps lift the entire offense as whole. Tyler Warren has shown flashes of being the next George Kittle, really awesome player.

Key additions: Colts brought in WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in free agency. Westbrook-Ikhine was a highly dynamic WR while in Tennessee. Could be nohting, but could help.

Key departures: WR Michael Pittman Jr traded to Steelers. QB Anthony Richardson requested a trade & will not play again for the Colts.

Notes: Anthony Richardson will be traded or released. Daniel Jones on track for full recovery from torn achilles & landed extension. Very positive for offense. Jonathan Taylor aging but HIGHLY productive. Alec Pierce lands MASSVIVE 4 year contract & Colts invested in him as their WR1. Josh Downs is primed for an increase workload & could truly break out in 2026. Michael Pittman Jr. traded to Steelers. Tyler Warren is a top TE in dynasty & could have a MASSIVE season next year.

How the volume number was reached: Same QB Daniel Jones returning — anchor to 2025 actuals (32.1 att/g); Regressed 30% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 32.5 att/g.

How the carry projection was built

Projected carry share65.1%
Projected carries per game13.9
Projected carries, full season237
Last season, carries per game19

That is a reduction of 5.1 carries a game against last season, inside a team projection of 26.1 rushing attempts a game.

Basis: prior usage blend. Carry share is the strongest forward predictor we have measured at the position, so this number carries more weight than any efficiency figure on this page.

Offensive environment: IND rates 23.3 against a league average of 23, 0.3 points above it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted run defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season+1.4 · neutral
Weeks 1–6-2.4 · harder
Weeks 12–17+9.3 · easier
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)+8.6 · easier

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

What happened when he missed time

From the absence record rather than a depth chart — who actually gained when he was out.

SeasonGames missedMain beneficiaryTheir PPR gain
20243Tyler Goodson+8.8
20222Deon Jackson+6.7
20233Tyler Goodson+3.2
Read the full Jonathan Taylor study →

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

Where he sits in the dynasty value cycle

His dynasty value has moved +11.4% over the last twelve months. The market cycle classifies him as stable.

For context on how long this lasts at the position: the average career at his position produces 1.7 elite seasons and 2.4 startable seasons.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — production-driven (pedigree ignored). The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
Josh Jacobs202417.266%+0.9%
Josh Jacobs202219.353%+5.5%
Tony Pollard202412.549%-1.9%
Josh Jacobs202313.948%+44.2%
Joe Mixon202417.248%-47.6%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 2 gained value, 1 lost it and 2 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000202120222023202420252026
Monthly superflex value, 2020-04 to 2026-07. Down 18% across the series, peaking at 9,984.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2020, round 2, pick 41 by IND
CollegeWisconsin
Age at draft21
Height5′10″
Weight226 lb
40-yard dash4.39s
Vertical36″
Broad jump123″
3-cone7.01s
Shuttle4.24s

Availability and volatility

Career PPR per game18.9
Week-to-week variation0.6
Boom rate22.7%
Bust rate18.2%
Games missed per season1.3
Injury historyAnkle, Thumb
Correlation between his posted line and his actual score0.51

That correlation is how closely the books’ posted line tracked what he actually scored, week to week. A higher number means the market has him figured out and there is less to exploit; a lower one means his weeks are harder to price.

Injury type matters more than games missed. Measured across our injury database, knee and foot returns stay below a player’s pre-injury baseline for all three of the first games back, while hamstring returns over-recover by the third.

The record, season by season

2025 · IND · 17 games

His best game was Week 10 against ATL — 49.6 PPR on 35 touches and a 11.5% target share, in a game that finished 31-25. His worst was Week 18 against HOU at 5.9, on 16 touches, final score 30-38. Across 17 games he cleared 20 points 7 times and came in under 8 points 2 times. In the 10 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 18.5; in the 7 decided by more, 25.3. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 17.1 points per game. He scored 21.31, 24.6% above it. The engine classified the season as lucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 2 against 0.74 expected, a gap of 1.3.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1MIA33-812.833271871010.3%71%
2DEN29-2829.522502516516.1%93%
3TEN41-2032.8341617102316%79%
4LA20-2714.655201776015.6%87%
5LV40-631.634201766312.9%74%
6ARI31-2723.7441421123113.3%92%
7LAC38-2434.23338169439.4%87%
8TEN38-1437.422211215337.1%75%
9PIT20-277.72212144504.2%79%
10ATL31-2549.6334232244311.5%91%
12KC20-238.6238165809.7%90%
13HOU16-2015.135362185020%98%
14JAX19-3611.4000217410%74%
15SEA16-1813.134142587015.4%85%
16SF27-4816.93333164618.3%88%
17JAX17-2317.436142170120.7%89%
18HOU30-385.92213142606.1%52%

Production

Receptions46
Targets55
Receiving yards378
Carries323
Rushing yards1,585
Touchdowns20
Points per game21.31
Yards per target6.87
Catch rate83.64%
Yards per carry4.91

Role

Snap share82.59%
Target share10.98%
Air-yards share-1.11%
WOPR0.158
RACR-0.13

Efficiency

Average depth of target-0.9
Yards after catch per reception9.4
Yards before catch per reception-1.2
Total YAC434
Broken tackles8
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted107.4
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game0.54
Rushing EPA per game1.11

Scoring position

Red-zone targets4
Red-zone target share5.2%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share69.3%
Goal-line carry share65.7%
Expected receiving TDs0.74
Actual receiving TDs2
Receiving TD luck1.26
Expected rushing TDs12.63

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 100+ carries pool that season:

Points per game4 of 49
Yards per target12 of 49
Target share14 of 49
Air-yards share33 of 49

Who else ate

The offense threw it 546 times. He took 10.42% of the targets. 4 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Tyler Warren21.21%
Michael Pittman21.02%
Josh Downs16.67%
Alec Pierce15.91%
Jonathan Taylor 10.42%
Mo Alie-Cox3.79%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Daniel Jones124024.87.611.34%
Philip Rivers31315.84.6914.8%
Riley Leonard228.656.53.05%

Blowouts against close games

6 of his 17 games were blowouts, 39.4% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 23.82 in those and 18.52 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2024 · IND · 14 games

His best game was Week 16 against TEN — 39.8 PPR on 29 touches and a 0% target share, in a game that finished 38-30. His worst was Week 12 against DET at 3.5, on 11 touches, final score 6-24. Across 14 games he cleared 20 points 4 times and came in under 8 points 2 times. In the 10 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 18.9; in the 4 decided by more, 13.9. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 17.3 points per game. He scored 17.48, 1.7% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1HOU27-2910.8000164810%96%
2GB10-1615.5243212103012.9%52%
3CHI21-1626.5122523110211.1%88%
4PIT27-2419.834202188114.3%73%
8HOU20-2318.711122010513.2%81%
9MIN13-218.935111348018.5%72%
10BUF20-3014.224821114011.4%83%
11NYJ28-277123245707.1%90%
12DET6-243.5000113500%96%
13NE25-2417.3117259614.2%89%
15DEN13-3110.11242210705.6%68%
16TEN38-3039.80002921830%76%
17NYG33-4527.6241132125210.8%88%
18JAX26-23251233417715.1%72%

Production

Receptions18
Targets31
Receiving yards136
Carries303
Rushing yards1,431
Touchdowns12
Points per game17.48
Yards per target4.39
Catch rate58.06%
Yards per carry4.72

Role

Snap share80.29%
Target share7.44%
Air-yards share-0.42%
WOPR0.109
RACR-1.25

Efficiency

Average depth of target-0.3
Yards after catch per reception8.3
Yards before catch per reception-0.8
Total YAC150
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted66.1
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game-0.84
Rushing EPA per game-1.64

Scoring position

Red-zone targets3
Red-zone target share4.7%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share56.9%
Goal-line carry share50%
Expected receiving TDs0.6
Actual receiving TDs1
Receiving TD luck0.4
Expected rushing TDs10.46

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 100+ carries pool that season:

Points per game7 of 46
Yards per target37 of 46
Target share32 of 46
Air-yards share21 of 46

Who else ate

The offense threw it 513 times. He took 6.31% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Michael Pittman22.61%
Josh Downs21.79%
Alec Pierce14.05%
Adonai Mitchell11.2%
Jonathan Taylor 6.31%
Kylen Granson6.31%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Anthony Richardson91216.586.924.9%
Joe Flacco51919.12.7912.02%

Blowouts against close games

2 of his 14 games were blowouts, 5.6% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 6.8 in those and 18.93 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2023 · IND · 10 games

His best game was Week 18 against HOU — 27.6 PPR on 32 touches and a 8.7% target share, in a game that finished 19-23. His worst was Week 5 against TEN at 4.4, on 7 touches, final score 23-16. Across 10 games he cleared 20 points 3 times and came in under 8 points 1 time. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 17.7; in the 4 decided by more, 12.6. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 13.5 points per game. He scored 15.64, 16% above it. The engine classified the season as lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
5TEN23-164.4111661804.2%15%
6JAX20-3711.55646819011.5%42%
7CLE38-392134451875118.2%50%
8NO27-3810.7122129505.3%61%
9CAR27-1317.955221847120.8%74%
10NE10-614.5116236913.8%88%
12TB27-2021.1000159120%58%
16ATL10-2910.3010184312.9%59%
17LV23-2017.4118219615%63%
18HOU19-2327.62283018818.7%77%

Production

Receptions19
Targets23
Receiving yards153
Carries169
Rushing yards741
Touchdowns8
Points per game15.64
Yards per target6.65
Catch rate82.61%
Yards per carry4.38

Role

Snap share58.7%
Target share8.04%
Air-yards share-1.92%
WOPR0.106
RACR0.494

Efficiency

Average depth of target-0.9
Yards after catch per reception9.2
Yards before catch per reception-1.1
Total YAC174
Broken tackles5
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted108.9
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game0.32
Rushing EPA per game-1.02

Scoring position

Red-zone targets4
Red-zone target share6.2%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share34.3%
Goal-line carry share38.7%
Expected receiving TDs0.97
Actual receiving TDs1
Receiving TD luck0.03
Expected rushing TDs6.35

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 100+ carries pool that season:

Points per game12 of 49
Yards per target9 of 49
Target share28 of 49
Air-yards share41 of 49

Who else ate

The offense threw it 574 times. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Michael Pittman28.57%
Josh Downs17.95%
Alec Pierce11.9%
Kylen Granson9.16%
Zack Moss6.78%
Will Mallory4.76%

Blowouts against close games

2 of his 10 games were blowouts, 13.9% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 10.9 in those and 17.67 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2022 · IND · 11 games

His best game was Week 1 against HOU — 27.5 PPR on 38 touches and a 14.3% target share, in a game that finished 20-20. His worst was Week 15 against MIN at 2.3, on 1 touches, final score 36-39. Across 11 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 4 times. In the 8 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 13.8; in the 3 decided by more, 12. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 16.4 points per game. He scored 13.31, 18.6% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1HOU20-2027.5471431161114.3%76%
2JAX0-247.311995403.4%74%
3KC20-1712.135202171013.9%76%
4TEN17-243.3131204208.3%88%
7TEN10-1915.578271058019.5%55%
8WAS16-175.6010167604.3%69%
10LV25-2024.322162214717.4%94%
11PHI16-1716.434102284112.9%75%
12PIT17-2418.834122086112.5%92%
13DAL19-5413.334212182011.4%82%
15MIN36-392.311130003.2%3%

Production

Receptions28
Targets40
Receiving yards143
Carries192
Rushing yards861
Touchdowns4
Points per game13.31
Yards per target3.58
Catch rate70%
Yards per carry4.48

Role

Snap share71.27%
Target share10.1%
Air-yards share-3.08%
WOPR0.129
RACR-1.13

Efficiency

Average depth of target-1.7
Yards after catch per reception7.3
Yards before catch per reception-2.2
Total YAC204
Broken tackles3
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted64.9
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game-1.59
Rushing EPA per game-2.61

Scoring position

Red-zone targets3
Red-zone target share4.8%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share43.8%
Goal-line carry share56.3%
Expected receiving TDs0.71
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck-0.71
Expected rushing TDs5.62

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 100+ carries pool that season:

Points per game16 of 42
Yards per target39 of 42
Target share15 of 42
Air-yards share42 of 42

Who else ate

The offense threw it 604 times. He took 6.91% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Michael Pittman24.35%
Parris Campbell15.72%
Alec Pierce13.47%
Jonathan Taylor 6.91%
Kylen Granson6.91%
Jelani Woods6.91%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Matt Ryan103914.083.6710.68%
Sam Ehlinger115.604.3%

Blowouts against close games

2 of his 11 games were blowouts, 14.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 10.3 in those and 13.79 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2021 · IND · 17 games

His best game was Week 11 against BUF — 53.4 PPR on 35 touches and a 15% target share, in a game that finished 41-15. His worst was Week 2 against LA at 6.3, on 16 touches, final score 24-27. Across 17 games he cleared 20 points 9 times and came in under 8 points 1 time. In the 7 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 19; in the 10 decided by more, 24. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 16.7 points per game. He scored 21.95, 31.5% above it. The engine classified the season as very_lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1SEA16-2817.667601756020%55%
2LA24-276.3112155102.9%45%
3TEN16-258.2118106402.9%48%
4MIA27-1720.433111610319.4%51%
5BAL25-3131.9341161553211.8%52%
6HOU31-328.8121314145211.1%65%
7SF30-181833318107111.5%69%
8TEN31-3421.23452167018.3%74%
9NYJ45-303422281917226.9%69%
10JAX23-1724.6681021116124.2%84%
11BUF41-1553.4331932185515%83%
12TB31-3819.745141683111.6%71%
13HOU31-024.30003214320%76%
15NE27-17230002917010%98%
16ARI22-1610.80202710807.1%79%
17LV20-2318.41262010818.3%71%
18JAX11-2612.534181577013.8%91%

Production

Receptions40
Targets51
Receiving yards360
Carries332
Rushing yards1,811
Touchdowns20
Points per game21.95
Yards per target7.06
Catch rate78.43%
Yards per carry5.45

Role

Snap share69.47%
Target share9.69%
Air-yards share-1.17%
WOPR0.138
RACR-0.712

Efficiency

Average depth of target-0.9
Yards after catch per reception10.2
Yards before catch per reception-1.2
Total YAC406
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted109.2
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game0.25
Rushing EPA per game2.03

Scoring position

Red-zone targets3
Red-zone target share4.4%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share82.4%
Goal-line carry share85.7%
Expected receiving TDs0.57
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck-0.57
Expected rushing TDs16.9

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 100+ carries pool that season:

Points per game2 of 50
Yards per target9 of 50
Target share19 of 50
Air-yards share46 of 50

Who else ate

The offense threw it 521 times. He took 10.18% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Michael Pittman25.75%
Zach Pascal13.77%
Nyheim Miller-Hines11.38%
Jonathan Taylor 10.18%
Mo Alie-Cox8.98%
Jack Doyle8.58%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 17 games were blowouts, 28.5% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 35.5 in those and 18.99 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2020 · IND · 15 games

His best game was Week 17 against JAX — 38.4 PPR on 32 touches and a 7.7% target share, in a game that finished 28-14. His worst was Week 8 against DET at 5.1, on 13 touches, final score 41-21. Across 15 games he cleared 20 points 3 times and came in under 8 points 2 times. In the 7 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 16.6; in the 8 decided by more, 17.1. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 14.3 points per game. He scored 16.85, 18.1% above it. The engine classified the season as lucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 0 against 1.01 expected, a gap of -1.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1JAX20-2714.96667922013%35%
2MIN28-11192292610118%67%
3NYJ36-713.2113135914%41%
4CHI19-118.91111176803.6%46%
5CLE23-3215.42317125719.4%55%
6CIN31-2715.54455126009.5%59%
8DET41-215.1229112206.1%34%
9BAL10-249.422762715%32%
10TEN34-175.7222571205.6%24%
11GB34-3115.444242290011.4%55%
13HOU26-2022.53344139118.6%48%
14LV44-2730.522152015027.4%56%
15HOU27-2019.545121683117.2%69%
16PIT24-2819.4000187420%58%
17JAX28-1438.41213025327.7%82%

Production

Receptions36
Targets39
Receiving yards299
Carries232
Rushing yards1,169
Touchdowns12
Points per game16.85
Yards per target7.67
Catch rate92.31%
Yards per carry5.04

Role

Snap share50.73%
Target share7.77%
Air-yards share-0.95%
WOPR0.109
RACR-1.607

Efficiency

Average depth of target-1.3
Yards after catch per reception10.2
Yards before catch per reception-1.9
Total YAC367
Broken tackles3
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted107.2
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game0.88
Rushing EPA per game1

Scoring position

Red-zone targets7
Red-zone target share8%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share54.6%
Goal-line carry share52.9%
Expected receiving TDs1.01
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck-1.01
Expected rushing TDs10.25

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 100+ carries pool that season:

Points per game8 of 47
Yards per target6 of 47
Target share24 of 47
Air-yards share39 of 47

Who else ate

The offense threw it 552 times. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

T.Y. Hilton17.38%
Nyheim Miller-Hines14.21%
Zach Pascal13.27%
Michael Pittman11.4%
Trey Burton8.79%
Mo Alie-Cox7.29%

Blowouts against close games

5 of his 15 games were blowouts, 29.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 14.7 in those and 16.59 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

Ask the Coach about Jonathan Taylor →
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