Start Jonathan Taylor or Tony Pollard? Week 7

Updated Oct 20, 11:16 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Jonathan Taylor over Tony Pollard

Start

Jonathan Taylor

RB · IND · at MIN

Market projects: 15.6; fantasy pts
MIN D vs RB: 14.3; fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 44 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 81%; Through Week 6
Target share: 11%; Through Week 6

Sit

Tony Pollard

RB · TEN · vs CLE

Market projects: 15.6; fantasy pts
CLE D vs RB: 16.1; 2nd fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 53 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 55%; Through Week 6
Target share: 8%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Tony Pollard for Jonathan Taylor?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Jonathan Taylor projects 188 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.8 a game over 10 games), Tony Pollard 99 (9.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Tony Pollard, 15.6 to 15.6 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Jonathan Taylor over Tony Pollard in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Jonathan Taylor at 15.6 points and Tony Pollard at 15.6, a gap of 0.0. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Tony Pollard's number is scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is. Drafters take Jonathan Taylor at ADP 8 and Tony Pollard at 68.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 15.6 fantasy points for Jonathan Taylor, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Jonathan Taylor is 72 rushing yards, 17 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.7 touchdowns (7, 10, 9 and 10 market sources).

Player markets imply 15.6 fantasy points for Tony Pollard, with 70 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Tony Pollard is 68 rushing yards and 0.6 touchdowns (6 and 10 market sources).

That puts Jonathan Taylor 0.0 points ahead of Tony Pollard on the market projections.

Week 7 matchups

Jonathan Taylor and IND visit MIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

MIN allowed 14.3 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 5 games, the fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 72 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against MIN and caught passes for 18 more yards.

Tony Pollard and TEN host CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 16.2 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 2nd fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 99 yards and 0.2 touchdowns a game against CLE and caught passes for 18 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Tony Pollard has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Jonathan Taylor is not on the injury report.

Tony Pollard is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Jonathan Taylor played 81 percent of IND snaps, took 74 percent of the carries, drew 11 percent of the targets and had 49 percent of the red zone chances.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 3 against HOU: 60 of 71 snaps, 23 carries for 68 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 4 yards.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 4 against WAS: 47 of 66 snaps, 20 carries for 95 yards, 4 targets and 1 catch for 2 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 5 against PIT: 52 of 71 snaps, 15 carries for 45 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 37 yards.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 6 against TEN: 65 of 83 snaps, 21 carries for 94 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 57 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 6, Tony Pollard played 55 percent of TEN snaps, took 67 percent of the carries, drew 8 percent of the targets and had 41 percent of the red zone chances.

Tony Pollard, Week 3 against NYG: 32 of 60 snaps, 17 carries for 74 yards, 4 targets and 4 catches for 22 yards.

Tony Pollard, Week 4 against BAL: 34 of 64 snaps, 16 carries for 48 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 2 yards, 1 touchdown.

Tony Pollard, Week 5 against HOU: 30 of 63 snaps, 14 carries for 52 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Tony Pollard, Week 6 against IND: 35 of 46 snaps, 19 carries for 76 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Jonathan Taylor played 17 games for IND and scored 362.3 PPR points, 21.3 a game, finishing RB4.

He ran 323 times for 1585 yards and 18 touchdowns, and caught 46 of 55 targets for 378 yards.

He was on the field for 84 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Tony Pollard played 17 games for TEN and scored 185.8 PPR points, 10.9 a game, finishing RB23.

He ran 242 times for 1082 yards and 5 touchdowns, and caught 33 of 41 targets for 206 yards.

He was on the field for 62 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Tony Pollard for Jonathan Taylor?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Jonathan Taylor projects 188 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.8 a game over 10 games), Tony Pollard 99 (9.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Tony Pollard, 15.6 to 15.6 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Jonathan Taylor for Tony Pollard?
No. Keep Jonathan Taylor: he projects 188 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.8 a game over 10 games), Tony Pollard 99 (9.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Tony Pollard, 15.6 to 15.6 projected PPR points.