Why is Jonathan Taylor still an Indianapolis Colt?
I don’t get it.
I blew off golf on a beautiful November day to write about this? (Yeah, I’ve got a tough life.)
There were numerous reports the Colts and interim GM Ed Dodds were holding out for a Christian McCaffrey-type haul of draft capital, but that market didn’t exist and won’t exist when the new general manager presumably tries to move him this spring. The Giants reportedly offered a decent return: a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round selection. I know I’m playing armchair GM here, but wasn’t that a fair offer? They got a third-rounder and a fifth-rounder for Quenton Nelson. A second-rounder would have been a fun toy for the next general manager and coach.
If the Colts were thinking along McCaffrey lines, where he was dealt for second-, third- and fourth-round picks, they’re flat crazy.
Taylor remains one of the top running backs in the NFL, but I would argue that McCaffrey is the all-around better back. He’s a far greater weapon in the pass game and he was younger (26) at the time of the trade than Taylor, who turns 28 in January. He’s gone 16 straight games without hitting the 100-yard mark. We know that’s not entirely or even mostly on Taylor, who’s stuck with an average line, an awful quarterback and a comically bad corps of wide receivers, but it’s also hard to ignore.
