Jonathan Taylor Injury Fantasy Football Impact | Should You Add/Start Zack Moss Again?

The Indianapolis Colts have gotten great play from their running backs pretty much all season, but it definitely hasn’t been the smoothest ride.

Jonathan Taylor missed the early portion of the season with an injury (while also looking for a new contract), so Zack Moss filled in, and did so at a high level. Taylor returned in week 5 and had the lead job back a couple weeks later, which relegated Moss to the bench.

Now, Taylor is dealing with another injury, so is it time for Moss to be added and started again?

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Taylor’s Thumb Injury

The Colts picked up a big win on Sunday, knocking off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-20. A big reason for the win was the play of Taylor.

The talented lead back rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. 

Now it’s being reported that Taylor has a thumb injury. He played the entire second half with the injury.

Moss got more work than in recent weeks, and maybe that was because of the injury to Taylor. Moss finished with 55 rushing yards on eight carries and caught two of his three targets for 15 yards.

Taylor played 42 offensive snaps, while Moss was at 30 snaps.

Taylor is Officially Out 2 to 3 Weeks

The news has officially broke that Talyor is out for two to three weeks according to Colts owner Jim Irsay via The Athletic. Devasating news for Taylor fantasy owners. This obviously makes Zack Moss a must own and must start moving forward.

Running Back Fantasy Outlook

The fact that Taylor played through the injury is going to confuse a lot of fantasy owners. If he played through the injury on Sunday, why couldn’t he continue to do so going forward?

He might have been able to gut through the contest, but he might have been able to do that based on adrenaline alone. Depending on what kind of injury it is, he could miss some time. The team did just give him a brand new contract, and it’s not worth jeopardizing his future over.

Even though Moss has been sparsely used over the past few weeks, he still is 10th in the NFL in rushing yards for the season. He’s also scored six touchdowns.

There’s a bit of a dropoff in talent when talking about going from Taylor to Moss, but it’s probably not as big as you might think. Moss is averaging 0.7 yards more per carry and has matched what Taylor has done as a pass catcher.

Indy is a top-12 rushing team so far this season, which is what should be expected after losing rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson earlier in the season. The Colts average 4.3 yards per carry as a team, and have rushed for 16 touchdowns - the sixth most in the league.

The running game is going to remain a huge part of the Colts’ offense, regardless of who is back there.

We’ll get further clarification on the severity of Taylor’s injury at some point this week, at which point we’ll be able to understand the path forward for the Colts’ backfield. We’ll cover a few scenarios here.

If Taylor is forced to miss time, then Moss will obviously regain the lead role. Trey Sermon is the only other back on the active roster for Indy. Evan Hull is on injured reserve, while Tyler Goodson and Zavier Scott are on the practice squad. One of those backs will back up Moss, but likely not play many snaps or get too many touches.

Moss will immediately go back to being a starting fantasy running back, and has the potential to finish as a top-five RB every week he leads the way. 

If the injury is one Taylor can play through, then Moss’ stock wouldn’t be nearly as high, but it’s possible he serves as the lead back, while Taylor has his snaps and touches monitored closely. It would be similar to Taylor’s first couple games this season. 

Moss would still be start worthy in that scenario, while Taylor would likely only be a starting option in deeper leagues.

There’s also a scenario in which the thumb injury isn’t bad at all and Taylor doesn’t even have an injury designation going into week 13. If that’s the case, then I’d expect the backfield breakdown to be similar to week 12. 

Taylor would be the guy to start, while Moss would be a better starting option in deeper formats.

How to Proceed

The injury news regarding Taylor should be available within the next couple of days, at which point you can plan out your starting lineup.

After Taylor regained the lead back role, Moss saw his own percentage drop. Our charts currently show him at 67% owned, so if he’s available in your league, he should probably be the top waiver wire priority at RB. 

If you own Taylor and Moss is available, then adding him becomes even more useful. If your league uses a free agent acquisition budget (FAAB), I’d spend up to 33% of my remaining budget to protect myself in case Taylor has to miss time. It’s a lot for a player who could be an RB2 on his own team in week 13, but this move protects you for the remainder of the season too.

If you don’t own Taylor and Moss is someone you still want to pick up, I’d try not to spend 33% of my remaining budget. If you are desperate for RB help, then I’d understand the move. If you are simply trying to add some depth, I’d probably cap myself at 20 or so percent.

If your league still allows trades and you own Taylor, I’d definitely go after Moss. The fantasy owner that rosters him holds the leverage and won’t give Moss up for free, but I’m sure there’s a trade out there that could persuade them. Be sure to check the trade value charts to come up with a fair offer (note that Moss’ value could jump depending on the injury news with Taylor).

Whatever roster status Moss has, I’d definitely be in favor of acquiring him this week.

Update: Added official news that Taylor is out a few weeks.