Jonathan Taylor isn't hurt, but it feels that way after the Colts announced this week that Carson Wentz and Quenton Nelson are both having foot surgery. With Wentz and Nelson likely out for the start of the season, it makes it hard to trust Taylor as a top-tier running back right now.
Things could change for Taylor once we find out exactly how long Wentz and Nelson are out. The timetable for Wentz's return is 5-12 weeks, and Nelson will likely have a similar prognosis. Nelson's injury is more impactful for Taylor since he's among the best guards in the NFL.
On Tuesday, we held our first mock draft since Wentz and Nelson were injured, and Taylor fell to the first pick in Round 2. This was a 12-team, non-PPR mock draft, so running backs are more valuable, but I expect Taylor to be a Round 2 pick for the foreseeable future, even in PPR.
Hopefully, Wentz and Nelson will return at 100 percent at some point in October, and Taylor can finish the season strong. I plan to draft Taylor around No. 15 overall, and I'm still confident in him having a standout sophomore campaign.
- With Quenton Nelson out 5-12 weeks, is Jonathan Taylor still a first-round pick? And what do we know about the Jaguars backfield? We cover that and more on the Fantasy Football Today in 5 podcast. Listen below and follow at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts:
As for the other Colts, Michael Pittman went in Round 10, while T.Y. Hilton and Parris Campbell were drafted in Round 11. Those are good spots for Pittman and Hilton, and Campbell could be a fine pick in this range also if he can finally stay healthy.
For an in-depth breakdown of this draft, watch the results as they happened live on our YouTube page here. This was our first non-PPR mock draft this season, and it's fun to dabble in this format every so often. There are also plenty of you who still play in these leagues every year.
I had the No. 2 overall pick, and it was easy to draft Dalvin Cook after Christian McCaffrey went first. I couldn't pass up J.K. Dobbins in Round 2 in this format, and then I wanted to see how this team came together with another running back in Round 3, which only happened because D'Andre Swift was there at No. 26 overall.
This strategy worked out well because I was able to draft Mike Evans, D.J. Moore and JuJu Smith-Schuster with three of my next four picks. It's not the best receiving corps on its own, but it looks fantastic when paired with my running backs, which also include Damien Harris, Zack Moss and Darrel Williams. I have the best running backs in this league, and I like being able to say that in a non-PPR format.
My bench receivers have plenty of upside with Mecole Hardman, John Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown, and I was able to get Tom Brady at quarterback and Tyler Higbee at tight end. Brady is a quality top-10 quarterback, and I don't mind stacking him with Evans. And Higbee is a good late-round tight end who I drafted in Round 11.
In this league, all touchdowns are worth six points, and we award one point for every 10 yards rushing and receiving and one point for every 25 yards passing. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and DST. There also are six reserve spots for a 15-round draft.
Our draft order is as follows:
1. Adam Aizer, Fantasy Football Today Podcast Host
2. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer
3. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
4. Chris Zupan, Podcast Listener Participant
5. Dan Schneier, Fantasy Editor
6. Christopher Senatra, Podcast Listener Participant
7. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
8. Shayna Shorr, Podcast Listener Participant
9. Tera Roberts, Dynasty Vipers
10. R.J. White, Managing Editor, SportsLine and CBS Fantasy
11. Jacobs Gibbs, SportsLine Fantasy Analyst
12. Nick Smith, Podcast Listener Participant
So which sleepers, breakouts and busts should you target and fade? And which QB shocks the NFL with a top-five performance? Visit SportsLine now to get Fantasy cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Josh Allen's huge season, and find out.