The Indianapolis Colts made an announcement about their 2026 season on Tuesday. By trading six-time All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks, they told the rest of the NFL they're open for business with the trade deadline two weeks away.
At 2-5, Indianapolis is barreling toward a rebuild. They'll need draft picks to speed that along, but won't have their own next spring thanks to the 2025 trade deadline deal that brought Sauce Gardner over from the New York Jets. There are several candidates to follow Nelson out the door -- DeForest Buckner foremost among them -- but the biggest name on most teams' wish list will be the All-Pro tailback tasked with being the engine behind a sputtering offense.
Jonathan Taylor has spent his entire seven-year
career as a Colt. That may come to an end in 2026, as an injury-riddled landscape of backs could make him a high priority target for teams with postseason aspirations. He's more likely than not to be traded this year, which is bad news for Indianapolis fans -- but possibly good news for proactive fantasy owners looking for a midseason boost.
Who'll be the Colts RB1 if Jonathan Taylor is traded?
Seth McGowan is the next man up on the depth chart and on the field. He's the only other tailback to carry the ball in 2026, racking up 32 handoffs to Taylor's 140 in seven games. He's been targeted just five times to Taylor's 26.
McGowan, who just celebrated his 25th birthday, is a seventh round rookie who bounced across multiple programs on the college football landscape. That includes stops at Oklahoma, Texas College, Butler (KS) Junior College, New Mexico State and, finally, Kentucky. The powerfully built 6-foot, 223 pound runner had nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage his final two seasons, split between the Aggies and Wildcats.
Is Seth McGowan any good?
He's been a roughly average NFL back in limited carries. He's averaged 4.2 yards per handoff with the Colts, racking up two rush yards over expected (RYOE) in a 32-touch sample. He's effective inside the tackles (5.1 yards per carry there) but hasn't had much of an impact on the receiving game -- his five targets have resulted in four catches and just 12 yards.
He's more of a short-yardage back than a breakaway runner. He also struggled with fumbles in that lengthy college career. But he sees holes well and can make his first defender miss, which should at least lead to an extended audition to be the team's back of the future should Taylor be traded.
Should I pick up Seth McGowan in my fantasy league?
Running back is a wasteland right now. McGowan can provide double-digit value if give Taylor's workload, but those touches may come down a bit for a team likely to be trailing throughout the rest of the 2026 season. Losing Quenton Nelson should also limit his effectiveness.
But it seems likely Taylor will be traded. McGowan is worth a speculative add on the cheap in your fantasy league, especially if you've got room to drop some of this season's woefully underperforming players (see the video above).
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Who is Jonathan Taylor's backup with Colts to target on fantasy waiver wires?
