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Jonathan Taylor on the verge of setting new Wisconsin Badgers record in the NFL

Jonathan Taylor is only in his sixth NFL season, but he's already close to making Wisconsin Badgers history in the pros.
Lorin Cox|
Sep 28, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Former Wisconsin Badgers running back Jonathan Taylor (28) runs the ball for the Indianapolis Colts against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium.
Sep 28, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Former Wisconsin Badgers running back Jonathan Taylor (28) runs the ball for the Indianapolis Colts against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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Jonathan Taylor is only in his sixth NFL season, but he's already close to making Wisconsin Badgers history in the pros.

He's off to another strong start in 2025, leading the league in rushing on a resurgent Indianapolis Colts team.

After the first five games of the season, he is now less than 200 yards from passing Melvin Gordon for the most rushing yards by a Badgers player in the NFL. He's two touchdowns away from passing Gordon's total, too.

Over his nine year pro career, Gordon rushed for 6,543 yards and 56 touchdowns with the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens.

Taylor sits at 6,427 yards and 54 touchdowns. At his current, league-leading average of 103.5 yards per game, he'll need just two more starts before he sets the new high mark.

In college at Wisconsin, Taylor had far more career rushing yards because he started for three seasons while Gordon split time in a loaded backfield for his first four years.

The retired running back still holds the Badgers' single-season rushing yards with a ridiculous 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2024.

Taylor's best year in Madison was 2018 with 2,194 yards.

Both were all-time great Wisconsin running backs that deserve recognition on their own, but Taylor's NFL career is separating him as the best in a long line of Badgers ball-carriers.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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