Beat: DJ Giddens on roster bubble

He did not play behind Seth McGowan in Week 1 and neither of them have fantasy value while Jonathan Taylor is healthy.

Giddens has been sidelined for weeks with a severe hamstring injury. His return comes a few weeks ahead of the Colts’ regular season opener against the Ravens. Giddens as a rookie in 2025 had 96 yards on 26 carries, appearing in nine games for the Colts. He’ll battle Seth McGowan for RB2 duties this season behind Jonathan Taylor.

Giddens appeared to have the inside track on the No. 2 RB job behind Jonathan Taylor at the end of July. With Taylor out looking for a new contract, Giddens took the majority of first-team reps during minicamp. Now Giddens is out dealing with a hamstring injury and seventh-round rookie Seth McGowan is getting the reps behind Taylor. It could be an uphill battle for Giddens, who the Colts selected in the fifth-round in 2025, once he returns from injury.

Describing his style as “decisive and violent,” Boyd believes McGowan is “building his case” to overtake DJ Giddens for the No. 2 role on the Colts depth chart behind Jonathan Taylor. Neither player will have a major role as long as Taylor is healthy, but it wouldn’t be stunning if McGowan won this battle in the preseason.

Giddens was supposed to provide some relief to Jonathan Taylor last year, but “that plan was mostly shelved” as the Colts apparently didn’t love what they saw. Giddens and sixth-rounder Seth McGowan figure to battle for the main backup job behind Taylor, but neither is a priority backup to target late in drafts as they’d likely form a committee.

With Tyler Goodson gone, Giddens is the incumbent and has the higher draft capital, so we’re surprised to see a beat writer giving some leeway to the idea that McGowan could be the backup right away. Neither player figures to play much without a Jonathan Taylor injury, but they could be interesting contingency holds in deeper leagues.

McGowan was a four-star recruit coming out of high school. He saw work as a backup for Oklahoma in 2020. After his freshman season, McGowan was arrested on charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He eventually pleaded guilty to a felony charge of larceny of a person at nighttime. McGowan was kicked off the team and ultimately spent three months in jail, followed by a year-long probation. He returned to football at the JUCO level for two seasons before landing on New Mexico State’s roster in 2024, where he ran for 823 yards and three scores. McGowan then transferred to Kentucky and posted a 165-725-12 rushing line. He punctuated his draft profile with a 4.49 40 and strong burst measurables at 6’/223. McGowan is a decisive runner who shows great anticipation when choosing his lanes. On the other hand, he is an average receiver who needs to improve in pass-pro, even if a third-round role isn’t in his future. Fumbles were also an issue, as he coughed the ball up six times across his three seasons of limited FBS action. McGowan ultimately looks like a developmental backup for an NFL team.

That can change if the Colts select a ballyhooed running back in the 2026 NFL Draft, but at this time, Taylor looks like he should handle another RB1-worthy workload next season. Taylor’s 369 offensive touches in 2025 rank second at the position and he is one among just 10 NFL running backs to clear 300 offensive touches during the regular season. He logged 321 in 2024. No. 2 RB DJ Giddens touched the ball 18 times last season and therefore enters 2026 as an unknown. If Taylor can again remain largely healthy next season, he has decent odds of surpassing 300 touches again.

An exclusive rights free agent, Ajiake had 32 tackles and played 70 percent of the Colts special teams snaps this year. He also saw some sparse time at linebacker, with 157 defensive snaps over 16 games. The Colts also agreed to terms with RB Ulysses Bentley IV, CB Wyett Ekeler, DE Viliami Fehoko Jr., G LaDarius Henderson, QB Seth Henigan, T Bayron Matos, C Jimmy Morrissey, TE Sean McKeon, S Trey Washington, WR Coleman Owen, DT Tim Smith, G Bill Murray, DE Durell Nchami, S Ben Nikkel, WR Eli Pancol and G Josh Sills on reserve/future contracts.

It was the first time Giddens saw any real work since Week 1, where he spelled Jonathan Taylor late in a blowout win over the Dolphins. With Tyler Goodson (one carry, three yards) set to become a restricted free agent in 2026, Giddens will enter the offseason No. 2 on the depth chart. He hasn’t shown much so far, but how could he? He had only 18 carries all season before this game as Taylor stayed incredibly healthy, and those 18 carries were the most among Indy’s backup runners.