It turns out Jonathan Taylor may be available after all. After the Indianapolis Colts traded Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner in the wake of general manager Chris Ballard's firing, the initial word was ownership preferred to keep Taylor around for the rebuild.
However, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport reported Saturday trade talks regarding Taylor are "active and ongoing." Indy's initial hesitance is beginning to look increasingly like posturing for better compensation, and with the New York Jets owning their 2027 first-round pick, it's natural for them to want to squeeze as much out of this deal as possible.
Taylor is behind only Edgerrin James on the Colts' all-time rushing list, and his 77 touchdowns are the most in franchise history.
He's on the shortlist of the most iconic players to ever don the horseshoe.
Still, Taylor is 27 and plays a position that isn't forgiving to those with his type of career mileage. Here are five teams that could maximize what's left of Taylor's prime, ranked by how much they need his impact.
5. Denver Broncos
The Broncos have depth at running back but no one has truly stood out yet. Jonah Coleman has shown the most promise as an early-down runner, but he's a rookie who's already missed time to injury this season. Taylor would immediately stabilize Denver's run game.
4. New England Patriots
Drake Maye is finally back on track while the Patriots' running game continues to underwhelm. Rhamondre Stevenson is what he is: a powerful runner with fumbling issues and not much explosiveness. TreVeyon Henderson appears to be an outright bust, and is unplayable in passing situations because of his inability to block. Taylor would be a perfect remedy for Josh McDaniels' offense.
3. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals seem to be taking pressure off Joe Burrow this season to keep him healthy for the stretch run, yet their running game hasn't exactly bore fruit as much as the short passing game. Cincinnati is rushing for only 3.6 yards per carry, fifth worst in the NFL, with Chase Brown and Samaje Perine both failing to break off explosive plays. Taylor is tied for third in the NFL in 20-yard rushes with five.
2. Houston Texans
The Marvin Harrison Jr. trade probably precludes Houston from dealing for Taylor, as does the AFC South connection, but he sure would elevate the Texans' offense. David Montgomery looked washed then got hurt, while Woody Marks has been nothing more than passable over the last few weeks. With how dynamic C.J. Stroud and the passing game has looked, Taylor could feast against lighter boxes than he faced in Indy.
1. Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota is 6-0 off the backs of Brian Flores and his blitz-happy defense. The offense has been largely a wasteland with Kyler Murray being, well, Kyler Murray and injuries to an already subpar running back room led by Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason. Taylor would be the Vikings' offensive identity the moment he touched down in Minnesota.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: 5 teams that need Jonathan Taylor trade the most, ranked
