The Indianapolis Colts have already traded Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, leading many to wonder when Jonathan Taylor will be traded and which team will be acquiring him. The short answer to that is whichever team is willing to offer something greater than a second-round pick plus an additional pick for the Pro Bowler, based on The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero’s reporting.
The Colts already turned down a 2027 second-round draft pick plus an additional pick for RB Jonathan Taylor, making clear they’d want a premium to trade the face of the franchise.
All the trade updates you can handle in The Sweep Insider Notebook: https://t.co/2eiMVV6AJ1 pic.twitter.com/FDIrQ5k9gc
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 31, 2026
The Colts essentially want a first-round pick for Taylor, which makes some sense given his ability and the fact that Indianapolis already traded its first-round pick, but that’s a massive asking price for a 27-year-old running back whose numbers are trending downward this season. Only a select group of Super Bowl-contending teams should even entertain parting with such a steep cost.
Minnesota Vikings
The easiest one of that bunch is the Minnesota Vikings, the only undefeated team left heading into Week 8. The Vikings’ defense has been historically great to start the year, which is great, but that’s just overshadowed how mediocre to bad their offense has been. The Vikings are averaging just 20.8 points per game this season, good for 24th in the NFL. They’re scoring fewer points per game than the Colts, who are willing sellers.
Their running game hasn’t been the problem, but that doesn’t mean that going from the likes of Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason to Taylor wouldn’t be a massive gain for Minnesota. The Vikings would have a presence for teams to fear in their backfield, which could open things up for Kyler Murray in the passing game, which has been one of the worst in the league thus far. Given how well the defense has been playing, it’d be malpractice for the Vikings to not take one major offensive swing, and there’s a good chance Taylor will be the best skill-position player available.
Denver Broncos
As bad as the Vikings’ offense has been, the Denver Broncos are averaging fewer points than they are (20.6), with an inefficient running game being a big reason why. Don’t get me wrong, Bo Nix has not played well at all, but J.K. Dobbins is averaging just 3.4 yards per carry and RJ Harvey, who was just placed on IR, is averaging only 3.6 yards per carry. Those are their two leading running backs in carries.
Even in the least efficient year of his career, Taylor is averaging 4.2 yards per carry, which is a major step up. Getting him behind the Broncos’ offensive line should only help him, and it should also help relieve some of the pressure Nix is dealing with to do everything. If he has a quality running game to lean on, that can help lead to an improved passing attack.
The Broncos’ defense is elite, and is the reason why they’re 5-2. Improving their offense would get Denver into Super Bowl contention.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks won the Quenton Nelson sweepstakes, forming one of the NFL’s best offensive lines in the process. Now that their offensive line is set, why not pair that with a dynamic running back? Seattle’s running back room is fine, and is set to be deeper with Zach Charbonnet returning from injury, but do any of Charbonnet, Jadarian Price or Emmanuel Wilson scream RB1 on a Super Bowl contender to you?
Remember last year’s Super Bowl? Kenneth Walker III was the game’s MVP after rushing for 135 yards on 27 carries and even catching a couple of passes. Seattle has played seven games thus far and doesn’t have a single game with a running back rushing for over 100 yards (Wilson, to his credit, did reach 100 yards exactly once). Taylor, behind this offensive line, could add an explosive element to this offense that it currently lacks and fed on in last year’s Super Bowl.
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