It has been more than a year since I've changed my No. 1 running back in my Dynasty rankings. And to be honest, I thought it would be at least another year before I considered it. After all, Jonathan Taylor is still just 23 years old and he already has an RB1 season under his belt.
But I was underestimating two things:
1. Just how bad this season could go for Taylor.
2. Just how impressive the young running backs would be.
Certainly, part of Taylor's struggles have come from the ankle injury he suffered and doesn't appear to have ever fully recovered from. But it's more than that. The Colts failed yet again to bring in a quality starting quarterback and their offensive line has taken a dive as well. Taylor's not even a surefire top-12 running back moving forward in redraft, and if his ankle doesn't get better, he's not top 20.
Still, Taylor will only be 24 next year. If it wasn't for the young running backs emerging, he'd still be RB1. First it was Breece Hall, who shot up to RB2 before tearing his ACL. More recently, we've seen Kenneth Walker take over for the Seattle Seahawks and produce 406 total yards and five touchdowns in his last four games. While those aren't RB1 overall numbers, he also just turned 22 years old and was the 41st pick in the most recent draft. And Travis Etienne may be making a pretty decent case as well. Not to mention Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley, who look like elite win-now options.
This time of year, it's a real mess sorting out rankings for contenders. The real problem for Taylor is that there are at least three running backs who are both younger than him, and projected to be better rest of season. The other problem is that, while Taylor has shown RB1 overall upside, that season would not have been RB1 overall most seasons. In fact, it's not even one of the top five seasons of the past three years. If you are a contender, there are at least a dozen backs I would prefer right now, and there are a handful I'd rather have if I was rebuilding.
Still, all those things being considered, Taylor still comes out as the RB2 and could be a buy-low if someone values him significantly lower. You just may not see that pay off until 2023.
Here are my updated Dynasty running back rankings.
