Jonathan Taylor Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
Fantasy SportsNFLBy Matt Clapp on

For the second consecutive week, the Indianapolis Colts will be without their star running back, who was also the consensus top overall draft picks in — standard and half-PPR — fantasy football leagues entering the 2022 NFL season.

The Colts announced that Jonathan Taylor has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars due to an ankle injury he suffered in Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans.

Additionally, running back Nyheim Hines is also out after suffering a concussion last week against the Denver Broncos; Hines is the Colts’ No. 2 running back and is particularly effective as a pass-catcher.

The Taylor news is fairly surprising after he was able to practice in limited fashion on Thursday and Friday. His absence is very bad news for the Colts and fantasy football managers.

In terms of the loss for the Colts- this Matt Ryan-led offense has been putrid and only came away with a 12-9 overtime victory over the Broncos last week because Denver was somehow as bad on offense. The Colts need Taylor — who had a ridiculous 1,811 rushing yards (5.5 AVG) and 18 rushing touchdowns last season —  and the ability to run the ball with success, especially if the 37-year-old Ryan continues looking cooked as a quarterback.

And for fantasy purposes, it’s been a very frustrating situation for managers.

Even when able to play, Taylor has been a disappointment production-wise. He went off in Week 1, rushing for 161 yards and a touchdown, to go with four receptions for 14 yards. In his three games since, he’s topped out at 71 yards, he’s had zero touchdowns, and he’s had five total receptions. Week 1 was the only time he’s even reached double-digit fantasy points in standard leagues. But the assumption has been that Taylor would get it going eventually and start looking more like the elite running back he was last year- that can’t happen on the sidelines, though.

With Taylor and Hines out, it’s likely to be Deon Jackson and Philip Lindsay sharing duties at running back for Indianapolis vs Jacksonville. Against Denver, Jackson had 13 carries for 62 yards, while Lindsay had 11 carries for 40 yards. Neither option is thrilling on the surface for fantasy, but for managers desperate for a running back or Flex option this week, one of them is probably worth taking a chance on. It’s also worth noting that the Colts’ offense scored zero points vs the Jaguars in Week 2 (Taylor had nine carries for 54 yards, while Jackson got -3 yards over two carries).

Here’s a look at how the fantasy football world is reacting to the Taylor injury news:

 

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Matt Clapp