December 4, 2021 By: Kevin Kissner

Can Colts RB Jonathan Taylor win the NFL MVP award?

There have been 17 seasons in which a running back has won the NFL’s league MVP award. The most recent happened back in 2012 when Vikings running back Adrian Peterson rushed for over 2,000 yards just one season after tearing his ACL. Before his magical season, it was six seasons prior when LaDanian Tomlinson won the league MVP when he rushed for a record 28 touchdowns.

It’s safe to say it’s rare for a running back to win the MVP award in today’s pass-happy NFL, but it could happen this season. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is having a special year and is one of the reasons why Indianapolis is back in the playoff chase.

Taylor didn’t rush for 100 yards in a game this season until week four, but since then Taylor has been the hottest back in football. From Week 4 to this past week, Taylor has rushed for 1,034 yards with an average of 6.19 yards per carry. During that stretch, the Wisconsin legend has gotten into the endzone 14 times.

The second year back is on pace to finish his 17-game season with over 1,700 yards on the ground. Since 2014, only DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry rushed for over 1,700 yards and neither won the MVP. Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers both won the MVP over Murray and Henry in those seasons, respectively.

Looking at the sportsbooks, Taylor currently has the eighth best odds to win the league MVP with Tom Brady leading the way. Josh Allen is second, but has struggled in the last two weeks before Thanksgiving including a loss to the Jaguars. Aaron Rodgers has a nagging toe injury that can impact him the rest of the season. Kyle Murray has missed time due to injury, but his Cardinals have found ways to win without him. Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs got off to an awful start, but are finding their groove, but that bad start could hurt Mahomes in the MVP voting.

The other candidate that could impact Taylor is Dak Prescott, but Prescott can’t seem to beat teams in the AFC West. Dallas fell to Denver, Las Vegas, and Kansas City. Teams are starting to use the Vic Fangio blue print against Prescott and so far it’s worked.

During Taylor’s hot-streak since Week 4, the Colts are 6-3 after starting the season 0-3. On Sunday’s broadcast on FOX, color commentator Greg Olsen mentioned that the Colts changed things up and are running multiple rushing schemes for Taylor. Some credit does go to the coaching staff and the offensive lineman for being able to run multiple schemes.

Now one important thing needs to happen if Taylor is going to win the MVP, Indy needs to make the playoffs. Right now, the Colts are sitting just outside of the playoffs with a 6-6 record behind the Broncos and Raiders.

With Taylor playing on fire right now, quarterback Carson Wentz has stepped up his game, by not having to do more than he has to. When the Colts started off 0-3, it appeared that Frank Reich was trying to pass to set up the run. Since Week 4, the Colts are running to set up the pass and that’s a winning formula. During Indy’s last nine games, Wentz has thrown 18 touchdowns to just four interceptions. It’s safe to say that there’s been a load taken off his back thanks to Taylor dominating in the run game.

Taylor currently leads the NFL in rushing yards with 1,205 with the next healthy running back in Joe Mixon rushing for just 924 yards. Taylor also has rushed for a league leading 14 touchdowns with James Connor just two touchdowns back. Taylor is also the only healthy running back to average over 100 yards per game this season.

With the way the NFL is operating this season, Taylor could be well on his way to becoming the NFL’s most valuable player.