Jonathan Taylor’s disappointing 2022 season came to an end this past Saturday when he suffered a high ankle sprain in Indianapolis’ humiliating defeat to Minnesota.
Indy officially placed Taylor on injured reserve on Tuesday, which means the bulk of the carries going forward will go to Zack Moss and Deon Jackson. In a corresponding move to Taylor going on IR, the Colts elevated Jordan Wilkins from their practice squad.
Action Network’s fantasy football staff weighs in below on what Moss and Jackson can bring to the table as you make your push to a championship.
Sean Koerner: Jonathan Taylor was knocked out of the game after just two plays, so we already have a good sense of how this backfield is likely to shake out.
Moss dominated on early down and even third-down work, which was surprising. I'd imagine he continues to see most of the goal-line touches going forward. He’s my preferred add of the two for Week 16 in a plus matchup against the Chargers.
Jackson shined as Taylor’s replacement earlier in the season, but he would likely need a negative game script in order to provide RB3/flex value in PPR formats.
Both are worth adding as we could have a better sense of the situation later in the week. It’s worth noting Jordan Wilkins was promoted from the practice squad and could steal a few touches from Moss and Jackson. My initial rankings have Moss as a RB3/flex.
Samantha Previte: The Colts leaned on the duo of Moss and Jackson after Jonathan Taylor went down early in their epic 39-36 loss to the Vikings.
Moss tallied 24 carries for 81 yards, while Jackson recorded 13 carries for 55 yards and caught a pass for a one-yard touchdown. Moss out-snapped Jackson by a count of 53 to 25 in the effort.
Jackson has been productive when Taylor was sidelined in the past, though that was before Moss joined the team. The snap counts and touches suggest Moss would be the preferred add, though this will likely be some kind of committee.
The Colts' remaining schedule is delectable for running backs, as they are slated to face three bottom-nine teams according to the rush DVOA metric and fantasy points allowed to the position.
Mike Triplett: Unfortunately, it’s hard to get excited about either of these guys.
Even when Taylor was healthy, the Colts run game has been woeful because of offensive line issues — they rank 25th in rushing yards per game and 27th in yards per rush.
Normally I’d prefer Jackson in this situation since he should play a much bigger role in the passing game (he had 10 catches in a game earlier this year). However, I wonder if he will pay a price for losing a costly fumble late in the historic implosion on Saturday.
Moss’ role already grew substantially in that game even before Jackson’s fumble. He tallied 53 snaps and 24 carries after he had never played more than five snaps in a game since arriving in Indy in a midseason trade. Maybe grab Moss and hope for a score if you’re desperate.
