HC's latest remarks prove Colts didn't think Jonathan Taylor situation through

While a group effort approach is nice sentiment, there’s no evidence that anyone on Indy’s active roster is actually capable of undertaking the workload of a starting running back, let alone serving as the catalyst for the entire operation like Taylor did.

The current running back depth chart, which is Evan Hull, Deon Jackson and Zach Moss, has a combined 382 carries, 1,549 yards and 11 touchdowns, of which Moss accounts for 75 percent or more of each category.

Moss did a solid job filling in for Taylor over the last four games of the 2022 season, rushing for 334 yards and a touchdown on 69 carries, but the 25-year-old has only started three games in three seasons and he’s not anywhere close to being in Taylor’s league. 

Additionally, he missed all of training camp after suffering a broken arm on the first day of practice, and he’s behind the curve in learning Steichen’s new offensive system and building a rapport with rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.

After averaging just three yards per carry and rushing for 219 yards on 73 carries during the preseason, the balanced rushing attack Steichen used last year with the Philadelphia Eagles, which saw starter Miles Sanders get 47 percent of the carries while backups Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott each hovered around 10 percent, may not fly in Indy unless the team adds a true bell-cow back.

The Colts brought in experienced veterans — with actual starting experience — at various points throughout the offseason including Kareem Hunt and James Robinson, but they failed to reach a deal with any of them.

The 28-year-old Hunt led the NFL in rushing as a rookie in 2017 (1,327 yards), but hasn’t been given an opportunity to be a lead back at any point since. Hunt is a speedy back who catches a lot of passes out of the backfield and has a skillset that’s the most similar to Taylor of any player on the open market right now.

Robinson 25, ran for 1,070 yards as rookie with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, but he too, has been the victim of a lack of opportunity ever since (he lost his starting job to Travis Etienne last season before being traded to the New York Jets).

Either would be serviceable band-aid starters until either Taylor returns or Indy trades for his replacement. However, if the Colts begin the year with the RB depth chart as is, it proves two things: They are unbothered by the beating Richardson will likely take with no ground game, and they didn’t think this entire situation through when owner Jim Irsay suggested said that running backs should stop complaining about their salaries despite being the fourth-lowest paid position in the NFL.