Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts RB PREVIEW: Jonathan Taylor, DJ Giddens Form DYNAMIC DUO

Starting point is 00:00:00 Whoever the Colts quarterback is going to be this year is going to need a lot of support and that's why the Colts need Jonathan Taylor to be as good as ever. Let's get to it. You are locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast

Starting point is 00:00:33 covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What is up everybody? This is Jake Arthur of HorseshoeHuddle.com, your resident credentialed media member for the site. Riding solo today.

Starting point is 00:00:47 Yesterday, it was just Zach while I dealt with severe storms. And today it's Zach dealing with severe storms and power outages. So switching places today. Let's just get better weather. I don't even know what is going on anymore. But today we are going to continue our position by position preview. Earlier this week we've done quarterbacks and the defensive line. And today we're going to keep, you know, foot flopping between offense and defense, keeping it fresh.

Starting point is 00:01:13 We're going to go with the running backs. So on paper, I don't want to try and overhype something too much. But when I look at this group, I think the potential of it, you know, from top to bottom has the possibility of being maybe the the best, deepest group of running backs the Colts have had since about 2020. When they drafted Jonathan Taylor. Now, unfortunately, that group really only got to play together like the first half. So Now, unfortunately, that group really only got to play together like the first half. So Jonathan Taylor, of course, rookie that year, they had Marla Mack, Naheem Hines. We got the smallest glimpse in that game.

Starting point is 00:01:52 That was a Jacksonville Jaguars game. Marla Mack was running crazy in that one. Naheem Hines had a couple of touchdowns early. John, the Taylor's first touch was like a 35 yard reception. The future looked awesome. The Colts were going to be powered by the run game. And then of course, Marlon Mac tears his Achilles and you know, we never really got to enjoy what that trio could be. So fast forward a few years now, Jonathan Taylor has a rushing crown

Starting point is 00:02:19 to his name. He's coming off of 1400 yard season. And you know, now the Colts have drafted somebody that they just keep comparing to Marlon Mack and that's DJ Giddens. Uh, earlier in the off season, they went out and they got Khalil Herbert as well. He's been a nice RB to RB three for the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals over the last couple of years. I liked that move initially. And now that the guy can have a more complimentary role and you have Giddens in there as well. I think this is a really good group and that's not even including, you know, Salvan Ahmed, Tyler Goodson, who's been in the league a couple of years and is an all right pass catcher.

Starting point is 00:02:58 And then Ulysses Bentley is another UDFA they got out of Ole Miss, who's got some some utility as well. So you know, you don't have a Zach Moss on this team necessarily, that a guy who if Jonathan Taylor didn't exist, you could still be totally fine with your run game just solely through him. We'll see. I mean, Giddens certainly has potential. This was a really deep running back class and a lot of people liked him to go a lot higher than he actually did. I've seen a lot of lists over the past few months of, you know, DJ Giddens being a sleeper, how did he fall this far, you know, so on and so forth. So a lot of people like Giddens a lot, but we're going to start right now at the top with Jonathan Taylor.

Starting point is 00:03:43 We're at a kind of an interesting point in Taylor's career here. So we have seen him display some absolute dominance. 2021 was one of the best seasons of Colts running back has ever had. Weather League with over 1800 rushing yards, you know, had over 2000 yards from scrimmage, over 20 touchdowns, dealt with a lot of injuries, especially with the ankle. You know, he had the thumb as well in the couple of years in between then. And then last year he missed a few games still, but had over 1400 yards finished in the top five.

Starting point is 00:04:16 So the most recently that we have seen Taylor, he looked really, really good, really effective. Earlier in his career, he was kind of reliant on the explosiveness, really good, really effective. Earlier in his career, he was kind of reliant on the explosiveness, the power, the ability to hit the home run. I think in these last couple of years, we have seen Taylor's patience and his vision really show up. And I think that's one thing,

Starting point is 00:04:39 one reason the running back kind of falls off a cliff at 29, 30 years old. Is they're not guys who really have that patience or that vision. Taylor, he's not old. I mean, I think he's 26 right now, gonna be 27 heading into next off season. But that's certainly something he has developed a lot more of. And I think a big part of that is he's played with a lot of the same offensive lineman over several years.

Starting point is 00:05:05 I mean, Quentin Nelson's been his left guard his entire career. Ryan Kelly was his center. He had Will Fries for a couple years. He's had Braden Smith his entire career, Bernard Ryman for a few years now. So I do think welcoming in a couple new offensive lineman, Tanner Bordellini and Matt Gonzalez. He has run behind them before, so he knows them a little bit, but I do think at the same time we're going to see maybe at the beginning of the season

Starting point is 00:05:32 it's a little slower until Taylor really learns those guys full-time. And I do think whenever we've seen any sort of large changes on the line or anything, it does take Taylor a minute to reacclimate. But as long as he stays healthy, I can totally see another 14, 1500 yard season. Again, last year he did it while missing three games. So with the quarterback situation being what it is, whether it's Anthony Richardson,

Starting point is 00:06:02 whether it's Daniel Jones, neither of those guys really is going to be one that you're going to trust them to pass it 35, 40 times a game and carry your offense through the past. Like this is going to have to be a very run centric offense. Uh, you're probably dealing with 20 to 25 passes a game and 30, 35 carries a game. Uh, I would certainly imagine that it should be skewed more towards the run. Now, of course, there's going to be some games where you just can't do that.

Starting point is 00:06:31 You're playing from behind. You can't run. We've certainly seen that Shane Stike and will abandon the run at times when maybe we don't all feel that he will. But yeah, Jonathan Taylor for what it's worth obviously going to be the starter. And even though the Colts do have more complimentary pieces. I do think that we're going to see Taylor get the lion's share of the work. Last year, it was Trace Herman and Tyler Goodson behind him.

Starting point is 00:06:56 There was no Zach Moss coming through that door. So he did play 82% of the offensive snaps in the games that he played, which is just a dominant clip. If you see a couple games in a row of a guy getting like 90%, you're like, what is going on? So the Colts really only had confidence in Jonathan Taylor for the most part, which was interesting because there were some key moments during the season. You look at like Green Bay in week two, he was rolling in that second half and then he basically they took him off the field in the fourth quarter.

Starting point is 00:07:25 There's just been times where you take him off the field and it's noticeable. I do think they're better set up to do that this year, but I think he still is going to get the vast majority of the looks. And I think you've got to give him some complimentary help as well just to ease the wear and tear. Because now, you know, I mentioned the injuries earlier, he does miss an average of three and a half games per season. Had been really healthy up until 2022 when those ankle issues started to happen. When he came back and got the contract, you know, last year to your 2023 came back and then had a thumb injury.

Starting point is 00:08:05 But the guy's going to be productive as long as he's healthy. I'm pretty pumped to see. I mean, it's not always the most exciting thing, but a run centric offense with a lead running back that's actually explosive and really, really good at what they do. I think that could be exciting, just as exciting as an explosive passing offense could be. That just as exciting as an explosive passing offense could be. That kind of leads me to my next point. I'm someone who I have to scour the internet every day over at Horseshoe Huddle, looking for ideas of what we need to tackle. And when it comes to lists and like who are the best running backs, what are the best

Starting point is 00:08:41 running back groups and rushing attacks in the league? I find that Taylor does not get the same love as some other guys around the league. And I've kind of found that at this point, he is, I think, a bit underrated nationally. I think he still makes the top 10 list and everything. But, you know, if you talk to some people around the league that really know football, like he should have a stronghold among the top five. He actually among all NFL running backs right now. He is the active leader in rushing yards per game at 89.7. That's more than Derek Henry, Camara, Christian McCaffrey.

Starting point is 00:09:18 That's more than everybody. And he's actually fit all time. It's like Barry Sanders and Jim Brown and Eric Dickerson. And I think Terrell Davis was the other one. So Jonathan Taylor has historically been incredibly productive. And again, I'm glad the last time we saw him there in week 18 was a super productive game there against the Jaguars because now there's not much mystery about as he's slowing down, he's wearing down, he's wearing

Starting point is 00:09:45 down anything like that. He looked like Jonathan Taylor the last we saw, you know, with that, you know, maybe not as explosive as before, but with better vision and patience before and a guy who's got a good relationship with his blockers and understands where things understands where things are going to develop. So obviously no mystery about who you're starting running back is going to be coming up though. I think there's plenty of intrigue about who's going to be RB to is it DJ Giddens or is it Khalil Herbert? You guys have to check your bank account and wonder where did all of my money go happens to me all the time.

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Starting point is 00:11:19 That's monarchmoney.com, code LOCKDOWNNFL for half off of your first year. arcmonday.com code locked on NFL for half off of your first year. All right. Let's talk backups and RB two. Uh, this is, I think one of the more exciting training camp battles that we're going to be seeing coming up here over at grand park. Um, I love the fact that Colts are going to have, uh, multiple, uh, joint practices starting in the first week with the Ravens, with the Packers.

Starting point is 00:11:46 They're not going to have it with the Bengals. I don't know why. I don't think I've ever seen a team do all three preseason opponents with joint practices. So that is what it is. But I do think it definitely helps put your roster in a better light and you can better evaluate who should be where. So let's first start with DJ Giddens. Colts drafted him in the fifth round out of Kansas State. Super productive player, over 3000 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns over his last two years at Kansas State.

Starting point is 00:12:17 So super productive guy has been known to be able to catch the ball in college, which is obviously great because the Colts, I mean, they had Tyler Goodson, but like, he's kind of limited as a player a bit. Like he only got out on the field a handful of times. And that's even over Trey Serman, who the Colts kept trying to make that happen. But Goodson wasn't really, I guess, showing them enough to become that RB two. I certainly think Giddens has that ability.

Starting point is 00:12:43 He's a bigger guy around six foot 200 ish. He reminds the Colts a lot about Marlon Mack. I've had multiple conversations or overheard multiple things where Marlon Mack's name has been brought up. Chris Ballard said it at the at the post draft presser. So I think what they see there is he's not like a home run hitter in the classic sense of he's going to run like a home run hitter in the classic sense of he's going to run like a four or three and just blow the doors off right

Starting point is 00:13:08 away. It's that he's able to make guys miss very seamlessly, like his, his agility and his like, uh, jump cut, especially in between the tackles in traffic is pretty rare. You don't see that with a lot of guys, but I think that's where it kind of brings Marlon Mackenna with full the guys contact balance is awesome, which to me, that is something I always like to monitor when I'm when I'm looking at running backs before the draft and I'm like, is this guy going to translate? Well, contact balance is always one of the first things I pay attention to because you don't want a guy that's that goes down easily.

Starting point is 00:13:42 So the guy has a good blend of agility and contact balance, which that alone almost always is going to result in a guy being able to create their own yards. Yards after contact is huge. And I think Giddens is really going to be able to do that. I think the biggest deciding factor of whether or not he can like firmly grasp the RB to spot or not, uh, it's going to be past protection. So he had a wrist injury. He suffered super

Starting point is 00:14:10 early last year, uh, with case state and it really affected his ability on tapas. Like he was still good pass catcher, but it didn't look as natural because it almost looked like he had to labor to catch stuff sometimes cause the wrist, uh, but past protection as well. Obviously there's so much involved in the fists and the wrist and the arms there with past protection. When you've got a bum wrist, that is obviously going to affect you. Uh, so just at the end of the Colts mandatory mini camp last week, I spoke with running backs coach Deandre Smith and I asked about that, you know,

Starting point is 00:14:42 how has Giddens looked now that the the wrist injuries in the rear view mirror and Smith said he's looked great. You wouldn't even know that the wrist injury was ever a thing. He didn't drop a ball at any point in the offseason program as far as pass catching goes and there's only so much they could do with pass protection now, but he said really Giddens and Jonathan Taylor have both really, really stepped up when it comes to past protection. Taylor that seems to be like the biggest thing he's working on. But Giddens I think the ability as a runner is obvious from what's on tape at

Starting point is 00:15:18 Kansas State. We've seen he could catch the ball. But if he could step up in pass protection, it's unfortunately not going to take much to be the Colts best, best running back in pass pro. Uh, Taylor has some good film out there, but he also has some bad whips. Uh, we've all seen in, it's come up at some really ugly times. Uh, Kaluah Herbert, that's definitely never really been his calling card throughout his career.

Starting point is 00:15:42 It's not what teams have him around for. Uh, so if Giddens can take a hold on that and be the Colts best running back and pass protection. He already catches the ball well. So that right there might lock him into the third down back roll. And we mentioned, Taylor dominated the snapshot 82% of the snaps last year and games he played any misses over three games per year. He's gonna need some relief.

Starting point is 00:16:06 They can't, I don't think they can just pour all their resources into him constantly anymore. If they wanna make the playoffs, they're gonna have to conserve him a little bit. And if they can find another running back to compliment him and take some of that load off, I certainly think Giddens has that potential. I think they really want him to do that. They really like him. I don't know that I've really ever heard the Colts gush about a running back that they've picked up more than him. You know, there was Zach Moss who that trade

Starting point is 00:16:35 worked out really well. But I think they really are interested to see how Giddens steps up and what he can handle. I mean, you guys have heard me mention, you know, we had some bold predictions earlier in the off season and we mentioned, you know, Jonathan Taylor and his contract situation. And if the team, you know, the owners want to blow this thing up next year, you know, Jonathan Taylor has a contract that might look pretty ugly on the books if he doesn't have a good season. And so they've got someone now in DJ Giddens who if he steps up, I do think they like him enough to give him a shot as a starter in the event that Jonathan Taylor, you know, wouldn't be around after this next season. So don't pull that

Starting point is 00:17:20 and aggregate that at all. But that's just to say how much they really like DJ Giddens. But then looking at Khalil Herbert, this guy's pretty solid all around running back, can catch some as a good runner career 4.8 yards per carry. He also is not like a classic home run hitter. But he is another one who's got some wiggle to him, can make some guys miss. And he has open field speed. He's not really the type that you're going to hand off and he's going to beat the guy around the corner. And he's got like that four to four or three speed like he's he's very productive

Starting point is 00:17:57 and can win some foot races. That's kind of what his thing is. He does have explosive plays to him, but he does it more out in the open, you know, getting those swing passes out of the backfield, the stretch plays, the outside runs, like that's kind of where his bread is buttered. So regardless of who wins RB to I, I think the Colts are going to be in good shape. They don't, they certainly don't need to force it with DJ Giddens right away. Luckily running backs are one of the positions that kind of acclimate the quickest, so I don't think it'll take

Starting point is 00:18:31 them too long to find out what they've got there. And Kansas State's offense isn't too crazy in terms of being wildly different from the NFL. That was that was one reason Marla Mack took a little bit to acclimate to the NFL. That was that was one reason Marla Mack took a little bit to acclimate to the NFL. That that system he came from at USF coming out of college to the Colts was not NFL centric. So I certainly don't think it'll take Giddens too long. But whether it's it's Herbert or Giddens, I think they're gonna have someone behind Taylor that can make big plays, can catch the ball and fingers cross that either Jonathan Taylor really develops the skill of pass protection

Starting point is 00:19:09 or that Giddens can kind of step up and take the reins there. So coming up, guys, there are even more guys to talk about. I think. High ceiling, if this group is awesome over the summer, they could maybe fit one more guy onto the roster. But certainly I feel like three guys is is a certainty. awesome over the summer. They can maybe fit one more guy onto the roster. But certainly I feel like three guys is, is a certainty. And I'm pretty confident all three of those guys will be there.

Starting point is 00:19:35 But who else might crack the roster? If anybody, let's take a look. All right. So the rest of the Colts running back group, Tyler Goodson, Salvin Ahmed and Ulysses Bentley. So Goodson, we all know a couple years now with the Colts. He's kind of a pass catching specialist other than that one time against the Texans on fourth down. The guy I feel has has done a good job in rebounding and kind of rehabbing his image since that low moment, which was just as much his fault as it was Garner mentioned. But now he got his first couple of touchdowns of his career last year,

Starting point is 00:20:11 caught the ball pretty well. He's a he's a fine little pass catching back, but certainly not a guy who you can't you can't elevate over. And that's why we saw them go get Kaluha, however, and then DJ Giddens. It now means that their hands aren't tied to have to have DJ Goodson as that change of pace guy. And then Salvan Ahmed kind of a journeyman veteran, his bounce around the league a little bit. He's fine. You know, he got with the Colts practice squad later in the year,

Starting point is 00:20:40 second half of the year and sign of futures deal with them. I think he just kind of feels like better in insurance if things go wrong ahead of them, if there's injuries, they at least have a guy there that has been there and done that and has, you know, he's seen plenty of in full action. He looks as Bentley, the really interesting one for me, Rookie undrafted guy out of Ole Miss was one of Jackson Darts main weapons there. He to me, you look at his tape and he basically looks like Khalil Herbert. He's kind of a smaller guy, about 5'10", 200-ish. Doesn't have that classic explosive speed, but you get him out in the open. He can win a race.

Starting point is 00:21:23 The guy catches the ball really seamlessly, I think, has decent contact balance and vision between the tackles. He again, like I mentioned, he's not a big guy and he's not real thick either. So I think one reason he's able to pick up extra yards after contact is that vision and balance. Again, because he's not so speedy, he has to follow his blocks and look for creases and traffic. I think he does that pretty well.

Starting point is 00:21:52 So, can one of these guys make the roster? I don't know. This is more of a bubble slash practice squad hopefuls list. Again, Salvan Ahmed spent the last half of last year on the practice squad. Ulysses Bentley screams it to me. We'll see. I mean, Tyler Goodson, maybe they want to carry an extra guy because he played a lot of special teams for the Colts, also had nine kickoff returns. I think this is an interesting one.

Starting point is 00:22:19 I definitely think I'm going to enjoy watching the bottom of the Colts running back depth chart this summer as opposed to summers in the past. I mean again, Ahmed has been around, he's fine. All three of these guys can catch the ball, which is nice to see. And Goodson and Bentley have kind of some juice to them when it comes to what they can do out in the open field. So I'm really looking forward to seeing those guys. Bentley, I think, is going to be a guy that's just a gamer. I'm really looking forward to seeing him with Jason Bean during the pre-season

Starting point is 00:22:57 running the RPO stuff and what those guys will be able to do. Because obviously Bean is not your average quarterback when it comes to what he can do with his legs. So if you pair those two guys together, you know, in the fourth quarter of preseason games, uh, I think it's going to make for some pretty watchable football. So, uh, get ready for, uh, for some fourth quarters of preseason games guys, cause I think being in Bentley together could, uh, could make things semi

Starting point is 00:23:25 exciting for the offense. We'll see Laquan Treadwell out there catching passes as well. I'm Sonia Laquan Treadwell. He also will make a preseason games. Really entertaining. He had a good off season program as well. I know we're not talking about wide receivers right now, but if the Colts have a set of triplets on the depths of their roster to make preseason games interesting. I'm all for it. So I think being Bentley and Laquan Treadwell

Starting point is 00:23:49 will certainly be something that you guys will enjoy watching. Uh, if you're sickos like us and you watch the entirety of preseason games starting to finish, uh, then I think you'll certainly be entertained. So thanks for listening to me. Yeah, today, guys We're going to move on over to the defensive side of the ball again. Linebackers that will be next week. Thank you guys for checking us out and making us your first listen of the day. Now for your next listen, go check out locked on NFL scouting as training camps get closer and closer in the moves keep being made.

Starting point is 00:24:20 Hosts Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL famous off season. Find Locked On NFL scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you guys want to become a Locked On Colts insider, chat with Zach and I directly. Get the inside scoop and just ask your questions, then follow the link in our show notes. If you don't already follow at Locked On Colts at Jake Arthur NFL and at Zach Hicks too on Twitter. We are on TikTok and Instagram as well. already follow at left on Colts at Jake Arthur NFL and at Zach Hicks too, on Twitter. We are on tick tock and Instagram as well. Also, please be sure to subscribe here on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts, ratings and reviews are very much welcomed as well.

Starting point is 00:24:56 I get more eyes and ears on us going into training camp, help us move up the ratings. That certainly is very much welcome. And with that, we will see you guys next week. Have a great weekend.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts RB PREVIEW: Jonathan Taylor, DJ Giddens Form DYNAMIC DUO

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