Jonathan Taylor plays running back for the National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts (NFL). Born on January 19, 1999, he played college football with Wisconsin Badgers and was drafted 41st overall by the Colts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Taylor received unanimous first-team 2021 All-Pro Team selection. Taylor won the 2021 Bert Bell “Professional Player of the Year” Award, the Maxwell Football Club said on February 1, 2022.

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For two reasons, the Colts’ decision to move up to pick Taylor with the 41st overall pick was unusual. In Chris Ballard’s time as general manager, he became the first running back selected by the Colts before the fourth round. Additionally, he joins an offensive line for the Colts that was the only top-five unit to have all five starters return from the previous season and finished third in PFF’s offensive line rankings.

Marlon Mack, the Colts’ starting running back, was replaced by Taylor at the beginning of the season. Taylor will start at running back for the remainder of the season when it was discovered the day after the game that Mack had torn his Achilles tendon. He ran for 1,169 yards and 11 touchdowns on 232 tries in the regular season, with just one fumble. He came in behind Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook for third place in the league in rushing yards. For his efforts in December, Taylor was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month.

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For the Colts’ opening game of the 2021 season, Taylor was selected as the starting running back. Taylor failed to surpass 100 yards in a game from Weeks 1-3. Taylor contributed to the Colts’ 41-15 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Week 11 with 204 total yards, including 185 running yards on 32 carries, and five total touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving). He did this by breaking both the Colts franchise record for overall touchdowns in a game and the record for rushing touchdowns in a game. Taylor’s efforts earned him the title of AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

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By winning Offensive Player of the Month in both October and November, Taylor became the only Colt to do so twice in a single campaign. Taylor was chosen to play in the 2022 Pro Bowl after garnering the most fan votes. He was chosen to play in the Pro Bowl, making him the first Colts running back to do so since 2007. With 1,811 running yards and 18 rushing touchdowns as of the end of the season, Taylor was the 2021 leader in both rushing yards and touchdowns. He concluded the season with more than 500 yards above second-place rushing yards leader Nick Chubb. The previous time a running champion finished 500 yards ahead of the runner-up was OJ Simpson‘s record-breaking 1973 season.