INDIANAPOLIS – Listen to Jonathan Taylor long enough and you come to realize the essence of his explosive game.
It’s tedious.
Preparation.
Stacking reps and days and weeks.
Getting in sync with the quarterback.
“At the end of the day,’’ Taylor said, “it’s just us two back there.’’
Taylor is working toward 2024, his fifth year as one of the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive cornerstones and one of the NFL’s top running backs.
We’ve seen the greatness he’s capable of achieving: a franchise-record and NFL-best 1,811 rushing yards in 2021, along with a league-high 2,171 yards from scrimmage and 20 total touchdowns. That followed his 1,169 rushing yards as a rookie.
And we’ve witnessed when something – injuries, rehab from ankle surgery, contract issues, an inconsistent offensive line – mucks up the works: 861 yards in 11 games in 2022, 794 in 10 games in ’23. After averaging a crisp 5.3 yards per attempt in his first two seasons, Taylor backtracked to 4.5 and 4.4 the past two seasons.
What we haven’t seen is what everyone is eager to see: Jonathan Taylor sharing the same backfield with Anthony Richardson for a full season.
The game-breaking running back paired with a quarterback who displayed game-breaking traits in his abbreviated rookie season.
One stat to keep in mind regarding Richardson: he generated seven touchdowns – four rushing, three passing – in just four starts and 173 snaps. That’s a TD/snap ratio of 1:24.7. Yes, that’s a small sample size.
Taylor’s four-year ratio: 1:49.7 (44 TDs on 2,188 snaps).
For quarterback comparisons, Buffalo’s Josh Allen’s touchdown ratio in 2023 was 1:25.6 (44 on 1,126).
In the Colts’ season-ending 23-19 loss to Houston, Taylor nearly carried them to the AFC South title. Before injuring his ankle late in the fourth quarter, he gashed the Texans for 188 yards on 30 carries. It was the second-highest output of his career.
Richardson was on the sideline imploring his teammates. His season ended in Week 5 with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder.
When the string of the loss faded, everyone wondered.
What will it be like with Taylor and Richardson in the backfield at the same time?
Jim Irsay’s mind went there when his franchise selected Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
“We’re hoping to create the perfect storm with him and Jonathan Taylor and that offense,’’ the owner said at the time. “. . . that double threat of their speed and both are unprecedented players at their position in terms of size, speed and what they can do.’’
They were on the field for two snaps in the Week 5 win over Tennessee. Moreover, they practiced together just a handful of times in a full-go setting in the days leading up to the Titans game. Laying any foundation during the offseason was sabotaged by Taylor’s ankle rehab/contract squabble.
General manager Chris Ballard is among those imagining a Taylor/Richardson tandem in ’24.
“Yeah, of course,’’ he said in mid-January. “I mean, you saw Jonathan the other night. The more guys you have that can create those kinds of explosive plays . . . you saw what Anthony did when he was able to run.
“It changes the dynamics of how people defend you.’’
Shane Steichen and coordinator Jim Bob Cooter undoubtedly will be creative with play designs that have Richardson and Taylor stressing the edges of a defense. Is it the running back this play? The quarterback? Does Richardson pull the football out of Taylor’s belly and find a receiver down the field?
Taylor described the Colts’ skill players as “a young, dynamic group.’’
For that potential to become reality, the work must be done now.
Rep by rep. Day by day.
Often, it’s more than the few hours on the practice field during OTAs, which continue this week.
“Sometimes,’’ Taylor said, “it’s just watching the film and maybe shooting him a text or seeing him in the hallway. Like, ‘Hey, on this play we just ran in team period, when we ran this, what were you thinking?’
“Sometimes it’s just getting that communication. Now you have to bank that rep, be ready for the next time you get that rep on the field and then be able to execute it.’’
Taylor has developed an invaluable connection with his offensive line. He’s had four seasons to learn the nuances of left guard Quenton Nelson, center Ryan Kelly and right tackle Braden Smith, and two to gain a comfort level with left tackle Bernhard Raimann.
“You know the blocking scheme. You know what’s supposed to happen,’’ Taylor said. “But then it’s that feel when you see how the ‘backer’s playing you.
“You just know: ‘Q [Quenton Nelson] is going to hook this guy.’ I just feel I know the angle, how Q plays.
“When you have a great run, a good run, it pumps those guys up as well. They created the hole. When you encourage them and they’re feeling well, you’re feeling great . . . it’s going to be hard to stop us.’’
It’s that type of synergy Taylor and Richardson must nurture.
“I think the communication part is huge,’’ Steichen said. “Just them being in the backfield together, communicating that way. The ballhandling aspect of it is big.
“That’s a big part of their deal, right? They’re going to have a lot of ballhandling stuff that we’ve got to get wired up . . . whether it’s handing the ball off, a zone-read, whatever it may be. Shoot, throwing to him out of the backfield.
“That part is going to be huge this offseason and training camp going into the season.’’
Like every other skill player on offense, Taylor has had to acquaint himself with the idiosyncrasies of four different starting quarterbacks: Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan and Gardner Minshew II.
If the Colts are going to re-establish themselves as relevant in the AFC South and AFC, Taylor and Richardson must show them the way.
For that to occur, they must develop a synergy. From Taylor’s perspective, that includes gaining Richardson’s full trust.
“So, just letting him know, ‘OK, at the end of the day, I have your back. You have your offensive line, the guys up front, the guys on the perimeter, certain checks helping you out. But it’s us back there and I have your back 100 percent,’’’ Taylor said.
Richardson needs to realize during every chaotic play, Taylor or whichever running back is on the field will do whatever it takes to buy him time to work down the field.
“Being a running back, other positions don’t have that pre-snap communication with the quarterback,’’ Taylor said. “You can be with the quarterback, talking about what we see here: ‘Hey, listen, this may be a check here.’ You just get those little special moments that come with the position.
“So, just being able to let him know, ‘Listen, I’m going to help you out.’ Quarterbacks help running backs out sometimes, too. You never know.
“I always like to have my quarterbacks feel comfortable and know that I have your back.’’