Who Should I Start? Jonathan Taylor or Bucky Irving

Saturday, April 11, 9:21 PM

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was a high-end RB1 and a dark-horse MVP candidate throughout the first half of the 2025 NFL season. Across his first 10 games of the year, he was averaging 113.9 rushing yards, 3.0 receptions, 26.0 receiving yards, and 1.7 touchdowns per contest. He ranked as the overall RB1 in PPR leagues from Week 1 to Week 10, and it wasn't particularly close; he was a full 25.1 points ahead of the RB2 during that span, Christian McCaffrey, and a full 89.9 points ahead of the RB4, Jahmyr Gibbs. Things went downhill from there, though, as the Colts hit their bye week and soon after lost Daniel Jones to a season-ending Achilles injury. The suboptimal quarterback play of Riley Leonard and Philip Rivers made it challenging for Jonathan Taylor to maintain his superstar role. He averaged 12.6 fantasy points per game (23rd-best) the rest of the way. Jones has a strong chance to be healthy in Week 1 of the 2026 season, which would be great news for Taylor. The 27-year-old has proven that he can still be an elite ball-carrier if the offense is in decent shape. He continues to be treated as a top running back option in RotoBaller's latest dynasty football rankings, where he ranks as the overall RB6.