
Running back, Wisconsin, 2017–19
Jonathan Taylor
- Number
- No. 23
- Height
- 5′11″
- Weight
- 219 lb
- Class (2019)
- Junior
- Hometown
- Salem, NJ
- Born
- Jan 19, 1999, in Salem, New Jersey
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Jonathan Taylor played running back at Wisconsin (2017–19). He won the 2018 and 2019 Doak Walker Awards. He finished fifth in the 2019 Heisman vote and was a consensus All‑American in 2018 and 2019. The Indianapolis Colts took Taylor in round 2, No. 41 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
321rushing yards, career highat Purdue, 20184rushing touchdowns, career highvs. Kent State, 20192receiving touchdowns, career highat South Florida, 2019Honors
- 2017Big Ten Freshman of the Year
- 2017, 2018, 2019First-team All-Big Ten
- 2017Sixth in the Heisman vote
- 2018, 2019Doak Walker Award
- 2018, 2019Consensus All‑American
- 2018, 2019Big Ten Running Back of the Year
- 2018National leader in rushing yards (2,194)
- 2018Ninth in the Heisman vote
- 2019National leader in points (156)
- 2019Fifth in the Heisman vote
Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.
Rushing
Receiving
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage | Adj. rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Wisconsin | 312 | 0.14 | 56th (n=287) | 0.12 | 44.3 | 32% | 0.15 |
| 2018 | Wisconsin | 299 | 0.24 | 79th (n=300) | 0.15 | 72.3 | 36% | 0.20 |
| 2019 | Wisconsin | 358 | 0.21 | 80th (n=287) | 0.13 | 77.0 | 37% | 0.24 |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2019 Wisconsin 14 games, 2,003 rushing yards, 21 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | at | W 49–0 | 16 | 135 | 2 | 38 | 2 | 48 |
| Sep 7 | vs. | W 61–0 | 19 | 102 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 17 |
| Sep 21 | vs. | W 35–14 | 23 | 203 | 2 | 72 | 1 | 5 |
| Sep 28 | vs. | W 24–15 | 26 | 119 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 15 |
| Oct 5 | vs. | W 48–0 | 19 | 186 | 4 | 48 | 3 | 29 |
| Oct 12 | vs. | W 38–0 | 26 | 80 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 22 |
| Oct 19 | at | L 23–24 | 28 | 132 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 2 |
| Oct 26 | at | L 7–38 | 20 | 52 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 5 |
| Nov 9 | vs. | W 24–22 | 31 | 250 | 0 | 42 | 1 | 8 |
| Nov 16 | at | W 37–21 | 25 | 204 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 11 |
| Nov 23 | vs. | W 45–24 | 28 | 222 | 1 | 51 | – | – |
| Nov 30 | at | W 38–17 | 18 | 76 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 39 |
| Dec 7 | vs. | L 21–34 | 20 | 148 | 1 | 45 | 2 | 8 |
| Jan 1 ✦ | vs. | L 27–28 | 21 | 94 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 43 |
2018 Wisconsin 13 games, 2,194 rushing yards, 16 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs. | W 34–3 | 18 | 145 | 2 | 47 | – | – |
| Sep 8 | vs. | W 45–14 | 33 | 253 | 3 | 43 | – | – |
| Sep 15 | vs. | L 21–24 | 26 | 117 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 14 |
| Sep 22 | at | W 28–17 | 25 | 113 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 6 |
| Oct 6 | vs. | W 41–24 | 24 | 221 | 3 | 88 | – | – |
| Oct 13 | at | L 13–38 | 17 | 101 | 0 | 23 | – | – |
| Oct 20 | vs. | W 49–20 | 27 | 159 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 2 |
| Oct 27 | at | L 17–31 | 11 | 46 | 0 | 10 | – | – |
| Nov 3 | vs. | W 31–17 | 27 | 208 | 3 | 38 | 1 | 30 |
| Nov 10 | at | L 10–22 | 20 | 185 | 1 | 71 | – | – |
| Nov 17 | at | W 47–44 | 33 | 321 | 3 | 80 | – | – |
| Nov 24 | vs. | L 15–37 | 19 | 120 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 8 |
| Dec 27 ✦ | vs. | W 35–3 | 27 | 205 | 1 | 41 | – | – |
2017 Wisconsin 13 games, 1,794 rushing yards, 12 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. | W 59–10 | 9 | 87 | 1 | 41 | – | – |
| Sep 9 | vs. | W 31–14 | 26 | 223 | 3 | 64 | – | – |
| Sep 16 | at | W 40–6 | 18 | 128 | 1 | 18 | – | – |
| Sep 30 | vs. | W 33–24 | 19 | 80 | 2 | 11 | – | – |
| Oct 7 | at | W 38–17 | 25 | 249 | 2 | 75 | – | – |
| Oct 14 | vs. | W 17–9 | 30 | 219 | 1 | 67 | 1 | 17 |
| Oct 21 | vs. | W 38–13 | 22 | 126 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 24 |
| Oct 28 | at | W 24–10 | 12 | 73 | 0 | 29 | – | – |
| Nov 11 | vs. | W 38–14 | 29 | 157 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 14 |
| Nov 18 | vs. | W 24–10 | 19 | 132 | 0 | 52 | 1 | −3 |
| Nov 25 | at | W 31–0 | 20 | 149 | 1 | 53 | – | – |
| Dec 2 | vs. | L 21–27 | 15 | 41 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 30 |
| Dec 30 ✦ | at | W 34–24 | 26 | 130 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 13 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2020 |
|---|---|
| Height | 5′10¼″ |
| Weight | 226 lb |
| Arm length | 31⅛″ |
| Hand size | 9½″ |
| Wingspan | 75⅜″W |
| 40-yard dash | 4.39 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.46 sW |
| Vertical jump | 36″ |
| Broad jump | 10′3″ |
| Bench press | 17 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 7.01 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.24 s |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
7 seasons, 89 games with a stat; latest team: Indianapolis Colts.
Pro Bowls: 3 (2021, 2024–25) · First-team All-Pro (AP): 2021
All-Pro teams: AP first team 2021; Pro Football Writers first team 2021; Sporting News first team 2021, 2025.
| Season | Team | G | Car | Yds | TD | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Indianapolis Colts | 15 | 232 | 1,169 | 11 | 36 | 299 |
| 2021 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 332 | 1,811 | 18 | 40 | 360 |
| 2022 | Indianapolis Colts | 11 | 192 | 861 | 4 | 28 | 143 |
| 2023 | Indianapolis Colts | 10 | 169 | 741 | 7 | 19 | 153 |
| 2024 | Indianapolis Colts | 14 | 303 | 1,431 | 11 | 18 | 136 |
| 2025 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 323 | 1,585 | 18 | 46 | 378 |
| 2026 (so far) | Indianapolis Colts | 5 | 101 | 398 | 6 | 13 | 106 |
| NFL career | 89 | 1,652 | 7,996 | 75 | 200 | 1,575 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
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