How Jonathan Taylor, Colts' offensive line are combining for a patient, punishing rushing attack

Jonathan Taylor enters Week 4 of the 2024 season – his first playing on the contract extension he signed last fall – with 261 yards on 51 carries (5.1 yards/attempt) with three touchdowns. Those numbers put him top 10 in the NFL in yards (seventh), yards per carry (10th) and touchdowns (fifth) among running backs, a position that's having a bit of a narrative renaissance with the rise of defenses designed to take away explosive passing plays.

It's exactly the kind of production the Colts expected from their running back.

"He's been impressive," center Ryan Kelly said. "He's definitely the best back in the NFL for a reason."

There are a few parts to that reason Kelly alluded to: Taylor's vision and patience are completely connected to how his offensive line (and tight end group) is blocking; his ability to wait, wait, wait and then accelerate through a gap has shown up in a big way this season. Specifically, it was highlighted on a few plays in Week 3 against the Chicago Bears.

Let's start here: Taylor, late in the third quarter, took an outside zone handoff from quarterback Anthony Richardson and pressed to his left (to the boundary, or short side, of the field). He kept his feet moving as he darted behind Kelly, who was in the process of locking up defensive tackle Andrew Billings. Then he waited, working to get Billings to commit to playing the run either to the inside or outside of Kelly.

First, Taylor faked a cutback to his right – defensive end Montez Sweat, for a split-second, looked like he thought he was going to have a big tackle for a loss on the back side of the play – but really, he was bluffing Billings and buying time for his blockers to keep pushing the Bears' defense back. Had Taylor pressed to the outside too soon, Billings could've disengaged with Kelly and got a TFL.

As Taylor waited, Kelly kept holding point of attack with Billings; left tackle Bernhard Raimann and left guard Quenton Nelson opened a lane to Taylor's left while right guard Will Fries threw linebacker Jack Sanborn out of the play. Right tackle Braden Smith and tight end Drew Ogletree double-teamed defensive tackle Chris Williams on the back side of the play; Ogletree instinctively got off the double team and climbed to block linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.

Three seconds – no, seriously, three seconds – after Taylor took the handoff, he finally burst across the line of scrimmage.

"The way (Taylor) can kind press the hole to get the linebacker to fill so you can kick him out, Braden did a great job of keeping the defensive end wide," Kelly explained. "He almost slowed down to declare which way I'm going to reach my head across. Ended up getting play-side. He juked the back-side linebacker to fill as well. Next thing you know there's a huge B-gap opening."

Safety Kevin Byard III was the Bears' last line of defense, and he met Taylor at the 30-yard line. Taylor stiff-armed Byard, bounced toward the sideline and gained an additional 10 yards before being forced out of bounds. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, this play was expected to gain three yards; Taylor picked up 21.

"That's a different combination to be patient and fast," running backs coach DeAndre Smith said. "Most guys, they're fast to go and they make a decision — fast guys usually go fast. Most fast guys don't stop, start, slow down and then go fast. That's a rare combination to be patient and fast at the same time."

Watch Taylor's feet on the highlight clip above – he's inches from Kelly, but his footwork is sound, helping him keep his balance and be able to quickly cut outside and then burst ahead when the hole opened up.

"Most guys want to be able to make that second move and they can't because their feet are not great," Smith said. "But JT does a good job just being balanced all the time. And then his acceleration once he decides to go, it's crazy to me."

And this, arguably, wasn't even his most impressive rushing play of Week 3. Taylor's 29-yard touchdown run – with a horizontal jump-cut to set up a vertical burst to the end zone against a cover-zero blitz – holds that title, with the Colts' running back gaining 23 yards more than the expected outcome, per Next Gen Stats:

What Taylor is able to do that sets him apart as an NFL running back is knowing when and how to set up his offensive line. Some running backs will careen right into the backs of their blockers and get tackled before a play can develop. Others will get spooked and make a move too early, winding up in the waiting arms of a defender. Taylor, instead, is particularly adept at making his offensive line "right" in opening up a path for him to run through.

"We're working really well together," Nelson said. "We're blocking well and he's reading the blocks really well and setting them up by seeing the defender and how we're blocking him, and he's able to make the defender think he's going one way and then cut back the other way."

"I think that he does a really good job seeing the whole picture," Fries said. "And when he does that, that's what makes us all right — when he hits the hole that's open, the defense has to be short somewhere. And he dos a great job of having that vision and the whole picture. He's not just going to run downhill — there's times to do that if you're in short yardage or whatever — but he lets things play out and he has a great feel for all the schemes and how they're supposed to play out."

"It's huge for us," Raimann said. "Even if you don't get the best hand or head leverage right away, you know you gotta strain on your block and try to get it late because JT might be waiting for just that. And then he can break through the smallest little gap and he can make you right and make the offensive line look very, very good. He's just a phenomenal, athlete, football player and teammate. We're lucky to have him."

Taylor, too, is quick to praise his blockers.

"It's a testament to the guys up front," Taylor said. "I've been with them for five years now. So just being able to continue to build on that continuity, I think it's showing I have the utmost confidence that any play we call is going to work because I know the work they put in day in and day out."

Colts ball-carriers are averaging 2.1 yards before contact, second-highest in the NFL, per Pro Fotoball Focus. And the Colts' offensive line and tight ends, combined, have the NFL's highest PFF run block grade entering Week 4:

All this works in tandem – blockers playing at a high level and a running back who knows how to set them up based on the playcall.

"You know at the end of the day he's going to find a way to make some yards," Fries said. "It allows us to stay on our blocks, drive our legs and continue to open up those holes for him. ... The way he runs really complements the way we can block."

And for the guys tasked with blocking for Taylor, there's no better sight than No. 28 dashing past them on his way to the end zone.

"It's just the most rewarding feeling," Raimann said. "We're straining in there, he's breaking tackles, he's running through arm tackles. It's amazing to see because that's the best reward, to get a touchdown on a run play that you blocked, then you get to celebrate in the end zone with your guys. That's just the best feeling as an offensive lineman."