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| Taylor flashed great physical traits at Tennessee |
The Rundown
Measurables
- Height: 6'4"
- Weight: 267 lbs
- Arm Length: 33"
- Hand Size: 9 3/4"
Combine Numbers
- DNP (Stress fracture in fibula that required surgery)
Accomplishments
- 10 TFLs and 8.5 sacks in 2019 to lead team
- 11 TFLs and 8 sacks in 2018
Highlight Reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FeR-G_NuR8
What He Brings to The Table
- Bend & Burst: Taylor has impressive burst coming off the edge, and his speed alone poses a substantial challenge for less athletic offensive tackles. Combined with his good hip and ankle flexibility, he can effectively turn the corner and flatten his arc to the QB. Most of his wins came when he exploded upfield and forced the OT to turn away from the line of scrimmage before dipping the shoulder inside and winning leverage. In addition, he also appears to have the lateral fluidity to create pressure on stunts on top of straight rushes. His speed should inject some needed urgency into the Seahawks pass rush.
- Sand In The Pants: Taylor is not especially large, but looks to have solid play strength as a run defender. On running plays, he was able to deliver a good punch into blockers and mostly hold his ground at the point of attack, giving him edge-setting potential against perimeter runs. Taylor flashed an ability to anchor in college, and this could allow him to see the field as more than just a 3rd down specialist.
Areas of Potential Concern
- Run Defense Awareness: As mentioned above, Taylor can maintain position against blockers on the outside, but this is often where things stopped for him. He did not display good awareness of the flow of run plays, and seemed content to simply hold ground against his matchup rather than come off blocks. This allowed running backs to gain yardage when attacking his side of the LOS, and resulted in his teammates needing to come in to get the stop on numerous occasions. Additionally, he didn't always work to establish a wide base after the snap, which allowed his matchup to push him back on occasion. He will need to learn to recognize the presence of running backs as they approach his gaps, and work to disengage from blocks and finish plays himself.
- Pass-Rushing Technique: Taylor is still very much an unfinished product when it comes to the nuances of pass rushing. While he showed great get-off once he fired out of his stance, there were numerous instances where he was late off the snap. This allowed blockers to get into their pass sets and negate some of the speed he threatened with. Given his physical profile, it would have been great to see more instances of speed-to-power conversion as well.
Taylor's rush tended to lose steam if he couldn't win with his initial speed and first move, which resulted in him becoming a bit of a non-factor for the remainder of plays. He will need to develop a plan to attack OTs, and add effective counters to respond when his first move is stymied. Taylor flashed some ability to work free on second efforts (There was some usage of swim and rip moves), but more consistent hand usage would help keep his frame clean and make him an even bigger threat coming off the edge.
Thoughts on Projection
Taylor had quite a few flashes in college that indicated the pass rusher he could become, but more often than not he won on athleticism over skill. The Seahawks believed in his potential, and saw that his physical attributes were worth the higher pick (They actually considered taking him with their 1st rounder, and were surprised he slipped that far into the second). Taylor will need coaching to add moves to his repertoire and become more disciplined as a run defender, but his speed-strength combo is too valuable to leave off the field. He should be able to work quickly into the DL rotation as a 5-technique or LEO on passing downs, where he can focus on just pressuring the QB. Moving forward, if he can refine his skill set, he could easily turn into a 3-down starter.
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