Is It Time to Sell Jonathan Taylor in Fantasy Football Amid the Seth McGowan Emergence? -

The trade rumors regarding Jonathan Taylor are screaming loud. About 24 hours after this is published, the trade deadline will be reached. The questions we all ask are: Will Taylor be dealt, and if not, will he remain a top-10 running back? The following explains the buy-or-sell situation many owners are weighing.

The Case of Jonathan Taylor

The Colts have noticeably limited Taylor’s usage over their last two games. Over his first seven games, Taylor was averaging 20.0 rushing attempts per game. Over Weeks 8 and 9, Taylor has averaged 10.5 rushing attempts per game.

The workload has been supplemented by 2026 7th-round draft pick Seth McGowan. The rookie has 11 rushing attempts over the last two games.

The consensus is that the Colts have limited Taylor ahead of a hoped-for trade that could happen by late Tuesday afternoon. The team is actively shopping Taylor, and risking injury would be catastrophic to his trade value. So, why risk it when your season is lost? The Colts understand what’s at risk.

The good news is that Taylor’s reduced workload has come and gone. Or so we hope…

One of two things will happen: Taylor is traded, or he stays a Colt. Either way, he should run back relevancy for fantasy managers.

McGowan has certainly run well, averaging 4.8 Yards per Attempt and ranking 20th among 54 running backs (minimum 40 rushing attempts) in PFF Rushing Grade.

There aren’t many good reasons to keep limiting Taylor if he remains a Colt after Tuesday. A closer split between Taylor and McGowan is possible, but I project about 75% of the rushing attack will remain in Taylor’s hands in Indianapolis. He is a fringe RB1 in fantasy football.

However, if it happens, the situation is still good for Taylor. His current landing spots are popularly the Patriots, Giants, Broncos, Vikings, and Packers.

The best of these landing spots are the Patriots, Giants, and Vikings. They would each insert Taylor as their starter and run a large chunk of the offense. The Patriots shall not trust Rhamondre Stevenson, and TreVeyon Henderson is inactive. The Giants will bypass Cam Skattebo, and the Vikings will let Taylor leadfrog both Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason, who have been average at best.

No matter where Taylor ends up, he would probably own at least 60% of his team’s rushing attack. He is one of the best running backs in the league; no scrub. Even if he had 10-15% less work than he did with the Colts, his supporting cast would be much better, especially since the Colts traded away Quenton Nelson.

Buy, Sell, or Hold: Jonathan Taylor?

The verdict is quite simple. Hold on to Taylor.

There is no great tradeable market for Taylor following two down weeks and a volatile situation. I don’t think he is a player worth buying low.

Any team Taylor could go to would be good for him. But neither location projects a tremendous usage rate, like Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, or Kenneth Walker. If he stays in Indianapolis, he also has Seth McGowan, adding uncertainty.

The best course of action is to hold Taylor and hope he comes back to a range of RB8-12 in fantasy football.