It was revealed on Monday that the Indianapolis Colts have given running back Jonathan Taylor permission to seek a trade before the beginning of the season. It’s expected that the Colts will be seeking a king’s ransom for Taylor, which may prevent a deal from happening, but at least they’ll be giving him the opportunity to see if any deal can be done.
This might be one of the largest preseason trades that we’ve ever seen in the fantasy world. Taylor was last year’s number-one overall selection, and this year has been going solidly in the late-second or early-third round. If he goes to a team that is bereft of running backs, he easily could be a late-first or early-second-round pick. Additionally, the Colts would then likely go out and sign someone like Kareem Hunt or Leonard Fournette, who could be a legitimate starter for them. This ripple effect would change the fantasy landscape and provide way more depth at this position than currently exists now.
Let’s take a closer look at a few of the teams that would benefit the most from a trade for Taylor:
Most Likely Jonathan Taylor Landing Spots
Miami Dolphins
The odds-on favorite to land Taylor has to be the Miami Dolphins. Although they drafted De’Von Achane in the third round this year, Taylor would be a significant upgrade over current Miami starters Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson. The Dolphins have said that they’re very happy with their offense, and I don’t think that they want to give up any high picks, but many in the industry feel that Miami is one player away from making a run to the Super Bowl.
Cincinnati Bengals
Another team that must be considered a favorite is the Bengals. Joe Mixon just signed a contract that is team friendly, but the team is not thrilled with him and there are rumors that they are looking to move on. Cincinnati has never been a team to give up a lot in a trade, so it just doesn’t seem like their style to do so here.
Dallas Cowboys
A lot of people are pointing towards Dallas as a potential landing spot but I think that Dallas is pretty happy with Tony Pollard, and I’m not sure they want to sink a lot of money into Jonathan Taylor. The one thing I will say about this trade is that I believe the Colts would rather move Taylor to a team in the NFC versus a team in the AFC.
Las Vegas Raiders
Is it impossible to think that these teams would trade two problem running backs for each other, with Josh Jacobs going to the Colts and Jonathan Taylor going to the Raiders?
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams know they are in a lot of trouble offensively, and although Cam Akers has played well in spurts, he has not been able to stay on the field consistently. The Rams have always been willing to part with their draft picks, and I think adding Taylor to a team that has Cooper Kupp seems to make some sense to me. I could see Akers and two draft picks being sent back to the Colts close to being enough to get a deal done.