Despite the trending narrative that talented running backs can be found on Day 3 of the NFL draft, the 2020 class will feature three players with first-round upside, including Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, who feels a bit underrated at this point.
The 2020 NFL Draft is going to be a really, really fun for fans of offensive skill positions. The expected wide receiver class will be one of the best in recent memory and the crop of running backs likely to declare will challenge the narrative that suggests picking a running back in the first round is a wasted choice.
Clemson’s Travis Etienne and Georgia’s D’Andre Swift are the most commonly mentioned names as the top two running back prospects heading into the 2019 season, but they’ll have some competition in Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor to maintain their current draft standing.
In fact, Rotoworld’s Thor Nystrom, who’s one of the most thorough draft analysts in the industry, recently published his preseason 2020 NFL draft rankings and lists Taylor — not Swift — as RB2 behind Etienne.
Nystrom admits, however, that much can change throughout the fall.
“Taylor can pass Etienne this fall by beginning to contribute as a receiver, taking steps with pass protection, and cutting the fumbles in half again,” Nystrom wrote. “He’s also at risk of falling behind three or four of the guys behind him if he continues to be unplayable on third downs and keeps fumbling.”
I recently evaluated Taylor’s game as part of our Summer Scouting series and reached many of the same conclusions as Nystrom. Here was my summary after watching several of Taylor’s games from 2018:
“Overall, Taylor has first-round upside. No doubt about it. A lot will come down to how NFL teams view his volume of carries and whether he can have an injury-free season in 2019. His production should remain similar to his last two seasons, and if he can play with a more natural feel as a runner, he’ll be in the mix to be one of the first two running backs drafted in 2020.”
In his two seasons as a Badger, Taylor has amassed 606 carries for 4,171 yards and 29 touchdowns. Remarkably, he’s averaged 6.9 yards per carry despite averaging more than 300 carries over the last two years.
Taylor can’t be overlooked. And it’s not that he necessarily is. But when a player begins a college season as the third-best prospect at his position, especially a position that’s lost its first-round valuation, it tends to suggest he isn’t a top-32 pick.
It would be a mistake to make that kind of assumption with Taylor, who has all the traits required from a first-round running back.