Don’t let the analytics crowd see this one.
The Indianapolis Colts are on an absolute tear this season, one that no one saw coming.
After dispatching their directionless division rivals, the Tennessee Titans, on Sunday, the Colts improved to an AFC-best 7-1.
A lot of people might attribute that success to the career renaissance of quarterback Daniel Jones, and they may have a point, but I think the real catalyst here is their superstar running back Jonathan Taylor.
Taylor is no stranger to the spotlight. He has two Pro Bowl appearances and a first-team All-Pro selection under his belt, but this season, it feels like he has reached a new level of greatness, with Sunday against the Titans potentially being his magnum opus so far in 2025.
With numbers like the ones Taylor has been putting up this season, it might be fair to put him squarely in the MVP discussion for a multitude of reasons.
I know the analytics crowd is going to skewer me here, but just hear me out!
For starters, when looking at just his raw numbers, the case could be made for him to be the front-runner for best player in the league based solely on his stats alone.
Taylor is on pace to obliterate Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s numbers from his absurd 2024 season, and we are only in week 8 of the NFL calendar.
If he continues his pace of production, there is a chance Taylor will capture the league’s “triple crown” among running backs.
The fact that he’s doing all of this on one of the NFL’s best teams should open the eyes of a lot of MVP voters, but the argument of whether a running back can win the award in the modern era will always persist.
The last running back to win league MVP honors was Adrian Peterson, and that was 13 years ago.
That said, if anyone can do it, it should be Jonathan Taylor, and 2025 might be the best chance he has.
Quarterback play in the league has been good, if not uninspiring, with no one signal caller truly separating himself from the pack.
Sure, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are living up to their usual billings, but they aren’t on pace to put up some of the video game numbers they’ve produced in the past.
The aforementioned Daniel Jones could make a case, but he’s hardly doing anything unprecedented at the position and may already be in line for Comeback Player of the Year as it is, and I don’t see him getting to double-dip with the MVP.
Then there’s the case of the injury bug, which has notable perennial MVP candidates like Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow sidelined and unable to throw their hats in the ring.
All of this could produce a perfect storm where a running back like Taylor seizes the momentum and never looks back en route to bringing home some hardware.
Am I saying it’s definitely going to happen? No. And I’m sure someone like Allen or Mahomes will do just enough to distract from what Taylor is doing in Indy.
But for my money, I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the award (at this moment) than Jonathan Taylor.
Let’s just hope, for his sake, he keeps riding this wave straight into the history books.
What’s your take? Is Jonathan Taylor going to break the streak of quarterbacks to win league MVP? Email me at austin.perry@outkick.com and let me know who you think should win the award.
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