Jonathan Taylor might be a potential steal in many of this year’s fantasy football drafts. He isn’t getting a lot of buzz, but going into his fifth season out of Wisconsin, Taylor is statistically on track for a great season. He had over 1400 yards last season as well as 12 total touchdowns. Does that sound like a guy whose average draft position should be 20 overall? Taylor is putting up RB1 numbers without getting the praise that some of the other top backs are getting.
Jonathan Taylor 2024 Stats and Fantasy Production
A big reason why Taylor is getting drafted at 20 overall and not earlier is injury. Taylor has only one season where he played the full way; in every other season, an injury has kept Taylor on the bench for at least a little bit. Last year, he missed three games, and yet he still reached the 1400-yard mark on the season.
In eight games of the season (which is more than half of what he played), Taylor rushed for over 100 yards. That includes one week where he had 217 yards just on the ground. He did have a small dip in the middle of the season after his injury, but that was bookended by a strong start and a strong finish.
Jonathan Taylor 2025 Fantasy Outlook
Although Taylor is coming off a huge year, there is always the possibility of injury with him. That’s what is keeping him ranked behind Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. Currently, Taylor is ranked number nine out of all the running backs according to Fantasy Pros. That being said, his ADP is still 20 overall, which means that, in some drafts, players are getting their RB1 and a receiver before they take Taylor.
One thing that’s interesting about this year in fantasy football is how many receivers are being taken early. Any players who take a big receiver with their round 1 pick (like Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson) may want to think of targeting Taylor as a later RB1 option. Players in smaller drafts (like eight players), though, could get away with taking Taylor as their RB2.
Although his ADP is 20, there might be players who overlook Taylor for guys like Chase Brown, Josh Jacobs, Bucky Irving, etc. In these cases, Taylor stays on the board through the late third round, and that is a great place to take him. Any team that stacks a top-five running back with Jonathan Taylor is going to be set for the season and will probably have lots of trade offers trying to pry them away week by week.
