Colts Just Miss on 3rd No. 1 Player

The Indianapolis Colts just missed on having their third player ranked No. 1 at his position in the latest ESPN/NFL Poll.

ESPN has been releasing position rankings conducted by polling more than 50 NFL executives, coaches, scouts and players, and the Indianapolis Colts have been well represented.

Linebacker Darius Leonard and guard Quenton Nelson both led their respective lists. 

Running back Jonathan Taylor had a chance to make it a hat trick of No. 1s for the Colts, but he came up just short. Taylor finished No. 2 to Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans... with an asterisk.

Taylor and Henry finished tied with the most No. 1 votes, but Henry edged out Taylor on the total votes. Someone actually voted Taylor the seventh-best running back in the NFL... must be a Henry fan.

Taylor made a mockery of the rushing title last year once Henry was injured. He outrushed second-place Nick Chubb by more than 500 yards (1,811 to 1,259). Taylor had more yards after contact than Chubb had yards. 

"You go into the game with the Colts and say, 'Don't let him kill you. Make the quarterback beat you,'" an NFC exec told ESPN. "He's No. 1, 2 and 3 on the game plan."

A scout in the AFC added that Taylor is the total package for the Colts, a humble player and an incredibly hard worker to match the on-field explosion. Taylor had seven more rushing touchdowns and 700 more yards in 2021 than he did his rookie year. 

"He's only going to get better," the scout said. "And his breakaway speed can change the game at any time." -- Jeremy Fowler, ESPN

"Make the quarterback beat you..." is not a phrase new Colts quarterback Matt Ryan has heard many times in his career.

The addition of Ryan to the Colts offense was deemed their best move of the offseason for good reason. Ryan has a chance to move into the fifth place on the all-time list of passers with just under a 4,400 yard season. 

Opposing defenses won't have the luxury of stacking their game plan against Taylor as options one, two, and three with Ryan at the helm.

Taylor may not need to rush for 1,800 yards again for the Colts to be successful, but he'll still be option one in the Colts attack.