Jonathan Taylor heads into his age-27 season looking like a very safe pick in the back half of Round 1 of your 2026 fantasy football drafts. He brings one of the most reliable scoring baselines in the league, having scored double-digit rushing touchdowns in every single season where he’s managed to play at least a dozen games. Finding that kind of locked-in goal-line equity is tough, but it’s not the only reason his fantasy floor is so secure right now.
Should You Draft Jonathan Taylor in Fantasy Football?
Start with Taylor’s ADP at 6.6 in PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator. We have him at our consensus RB3, which is me and my colleague Kyle Soppe. His projected fantasy points per game sit at 19.41, which would be pretty impressive if he hits that.
Consider what happened last year in one of my main home leagues. I reluctantly took Taylor at the back end of the second round. I didn’t want him, but he was the right pick in that spot, so I took him. It worked out pretty well.
We know for sure the 20-plus points per game upside is there. He still averaged 21.3 points per game last year, but it was a tale of two halves. From Weeks 1 through 10, JT posted an absurd, league-winning 27.4 points per game. Unfortunately, from Weeks 11 through 18, which are far more important than the first 10, he only averaged 12.6 points per game.
So what happened? Daniel Jones first suffered that fibula fracture that hampered his production. Then he tore his Achilles. The Colts experimented with using Riley Leonard for a little bit. Anthony Richardson was hurt, not that he would have been much of an upgrade anyway. Then they lured Philip Rivers out of retirement. At that point, defenses knew they could just hone in on JT. The offense couldn’t produce at the same level that it was, and the second half did not go as well.
Here’s where we are for 2026. By all accounts, Daniel Jones’ recovery has gone as well as expected. He’s fully ready for Week 1. He’s going to start. How will he perform? Will he be the same quarterback he was before getting hurt? It’s hard to say, but we know that this offense was one of the best in the league with Daniel Jones leading it.
We have Taylor now as the engine of that offense. We know they want to build this offense through Taylor, and we know he has elite RB1 upside. Yes, the receiving profile is not necessarily where we want it to be, but there are few three-down backs in the NFL right now, and Taylor is one of them.
There are some people who are a little worried about JT because of what we saw over the second half last season. He is, much like Derrick Henry, very much dependent upon game script. He performs much better when his team is winning games. But that’s also the case for most running backs. I don’t think that’s a reason that we should talk ourselves out of taking Taylor.
Just think about sitting there on that first Sunday watching Week 1. The Colts get in the red zone. What do they do? They give the ball to Taylor 6 times on 8 plays or whatever it is. You’re wondering, wait, why did I fade this guy? We have a proven elite talent who’s locked into a three-down role, who just gets the ball at the goal line almost every time. I think we should not overthink this. Take Taylor if he’s available at any point after about No. 7 overall.
FANTASY RANKINGS: PFN’s FREE Fantasy PPR, Half-PPR, and Non-PPR Rankings
Jonathan Taylor’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
I’m a sharer of information, even if it’s something I can’t truly explain.
Since 2023
Taylor in Week 1: 0.64 PPR points per touch
Taylor after Week 1: 0.88 PPR points per touch
I don’t view the Ravens as vulnerable as some do when it comes to the defensive end (they allowed 19+ points to a running back 4 times last season, but the last one during the fantasy season came in Week 3) and the potential for their offense to grind out possessions with the clock running is always a concern.
When Daniel Jones was feeling himself last season, Taylor thrived. We could get back to that level of production with time, but I don’t think we open the season that way. Jones is coming off of the December torn Achilles, and with the WR room being what it is (lots of missed time from Alec Pierce and the departure of Michael Pittman), I’d be shocked if this offense comes out of the gates firing.
That train of thought has kept JT out of my Main Slate DFS builds this week. He’s still a locked-in top-10 option that will get as much work as he can handle: you’re playing him with plenty of confidence every single week in annual leagues, and there’s a chance he carries you when your season is on the line (Titans, Bengals, and Browns in Weeks 15 to 17).
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Where Taylor Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
- Jahmyr Gibbs | DET
- Bijan Robinson | ATL
- Jonathan Taylor | IND
- James Cook III | BUF
- Christian McCaffrey | SF
- Saquon Barkley | PHI
- Chase Brown | CIN
- Derrick Henry | BAL
- De'Von Achane | MIA
- Kenneth Walker III | KC
- Omarion Hampton | LAC
Analysts Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe rank every running back on PFN's 2026 PPR Consensus Board.
