Kid ran 4.41 I want him in the worse way. Power and speed and great still arm. This is why he had so many chunk plays.
My concerns with Taylor are his ball security and his mileage. But yes, I really like his game and he plays in an offense that seems more conducive to the pro game than say Dobbins. Taylor really knows how to burrow in behind his OL and get those tough inside yards.
I like him I also want to look closer at kid from Florida Akers 4.47
I was looking at his games today actually. And yes I agree. Ball security seems to be his issue. I didn’t see him play much at all. All I know is his highlights and stats. Can’t give a good option on him.
Had 4 lost fumbles this year.
something to look at but also types of fumbles sometimes its just a very good hit other times its fighting for yards when he should just go down Not all fumbles are from small hands or over work
I am not for drafting a RB before rd 3 anyway depends on FA an if we trade down
18 fumbles in 3 years and lost 15 of them. In almost every case it was going for extra yards. Linebacker Troy Dye called it the “Lawnmower drill”, grabbing and pulling the ball from Taylor in the Rose Bowl. Although the 2 time Doak Walker winner is all that, any team drafting him HAS to consider this.
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Like I said maybe rd 3 an any back taken will rotate IMO I don’t think Lions are looking to draft there #1 RB If u pick RB in first 3 rds your looking for starter
A bigger faster Ameer Abdullah? No thanks.
Would rather have JK Dobbins if the Lions trade down and have extra ammunition.
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Wisconsin has picked up multiple top-notch running backs from New Jersey, including Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, Corey Clement, and Taylor. He was the South Jersey Offensive Player of the Year as a senior (2,815 yards) and then rode the Badgers’ offensive line to second-team Associated Press All-American, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and Doak Walker Award finalist honors as true freshman in 2017 (299 carries, 1,977 yards, 6.6 ypc, 13 touchdowns; eight receptions, 95 yards, 11.9 average in 14 games, 13 starts). Taylor won the Doak Walker Award in 2018, garnered unanimous first-team All-American honors, and was named first-team All-Big Ten (and conference Running Back of the Year). He led the FBS with 2,194 rushing yards (307 carries, 7.1 per, 16 touchdowns; eight receptions, 60 yards, 7.5 average) in 13 starts, and finished the year as the team’s MVP of the Pinstripe Bowl in a win over Miami (205 yards, touchdown). Taylor’s two-year rushing total was third-best in NCAA history, behind fellow star UW back Melvin Gordon and late-1990s Iowa State star Troy Davis. Taylor’s speed on the field is evident but he also proved it on the track for the Badgers, running in the Penn Relays and Big Ten Championship meet in the spring of 2019. That quickness helped him reach the goal of back-to-back seasons with 2,000 rushing yards, something only he and Davis have achieved. Taylor won the Doak Walker Award again for his success in 2019, as well as first-team Associated Press All-American and Big Ten Running Back of the Year (and first-team all-conference) honors by gaining 2,003 yards and scoring 21 touchdowns on 320 carries (6.3 per). He also scored five times as a receiver during the season (26 receptions, 252 yards, 9.5 average).
Overview
Supremely productive, well-built runner with an all-day, every-day mentality that helped lead him to three Big Ten rushing titles. Taylor runs with bend and burst as an outside runner and has home-run speed once he gets into the open field. He displays an ability to weave around interior traffic but might have evolved into more of a thinker than reactor inside due to fumbling issues and the litany of loaded fronts he faced. His patience and understanding of the where/when of blocks allowed him to thrive in multiple run schemes. He’s more body puncher than knockout artist, wearing down his opponents with carry after carry. His traits, toughness and talent should make him an early starter with a solid ceiling and more third-down potential than we saw at Wisconsin.
Strengths
Prototypical height, weight, speed and durability
Hit 200-plus yards 12 times during career
Rarely rushes the run and allows lead blocks to eat
Deep line of scrimmage press for cutback freedom
Sinks, plants and cuts with one-cut talent
Navigates and flows with contours of the run lane
Burst around the corner outpaces pursuit
Former track man with a breakaway gear
Plays with good bend and forward lean
Balances through contact for additional yardage
Possesses talent to make something out of nothing
Chops out legs from under blitzers
Showed some route-running ability against Northwestern
Weaknesses
Tallied over 300 touches in all three years
Wear and tear could be a concern for NFL teams
Fumbled 15 times over three years
Occasional hesitation processing interior
Lacks fluid jump-cuts
Slows feet and covers into contact inside at times
Anticipates second-level moves instead of splitting defenders
Not a powerful pile mover in tight quarters
Limited catch total with elevated drop total
Play lacked confidence and energy against Ohio State in-seasonOMG , not even close wow u must not watch much football. Not one thing like Abdullah.
Taylor would be a great back to have if he didn’t have issues with ball security at times.
Yeah u can coach that, and I would trade a having a 100 yrds per game back that breaks off big runs regularly. For a fumble here and there
I don’t know mouse. nobody could teach Ebron from dropping footballs while he was here, two different positions I know but sometimes in football you have players that just have that tendency to handle the football poorly at times. I’d really like to have Taylor IF he masters football security. in practice I’d have our players trying to knock the ball out of his hands or strip it away a ton until I was satisfied that he gets it and gets pretty damn hard to knock that ball out from him. then he can just play like normal…It will be interesting if Quinn drafts this kid.
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Not 15 fumbles in 3 years, 18 with 15 lost. Every D he plays against in the NFL will be ripping at the ball. When he fumbled and granted I haven’t seen them all but what I saw was him trying for that extra yard. I’m not sure if you can teach ball security.
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When I was just starting to scout the RBs he immediately jumped to the top of my list, just watching the way he ran. THEN… I saw the fumbles. Holy snikeys… Even with the massive amount of carries (which also is a red flag) he was a fumble machine. So he’s dropped to #4 for me behind Swift, Dobbins and Akers.
Taylor ran awesome for his size and Swift came in a little lighter than advertised, 212 vs 219. So Taylor certainly helped himself. But I just can’t get the Abdullah fumble on the one inch line out of my head and with Taylor, it’s not a matter of IF he loses a game by losing the ball, but when. I hear some go well it’s all going for extra yards, which IMO is a ridiculous assertion. As if he is the only RB that tries for extra yards. Anyone who doesn’t try for extra yards, I’m not interested in. But other backs who also go for extra yards don’t cough it up like the national pass time. When that ISN’T happening however, the team that drafts him is getting one of the best backs in the draft.
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I’m big on Taylor Ive watched him play a lot. I watched every game last year just to watch him specifically because I thought he was exactly what the Lions needed at RB. I’d take him in round two without question.
On the 18 fumbles. I’m not worried about his ball security one bit. 8 came his Freshman year. He dropped that to 4 in his 2nd year but it rose back 6 last year. Of those 6 fumbles 3 came with Aron Cruickshank at quarterback they were running the wildcat offense and they all came on read option plays where Cruickshank tossed the ball to him last second and he mishandled them. Was it the QB’s fault or his fault? I actually think 2 were clearly not on the QB. Without those plays he had 3 fumbles. In the NFL those 3 plays would never happen. Also after his freshman year teams were aggressive at trying to strip the ball. They constantly tested him on it. It resulted in him having some big plays too because defenders went for the ball.
Taylor is a stud. If he were a more fluid receiver I’d rank him as the best RB. Swift is the better all around player but Taylor is the better runner and a threat to go the distance on any play. I have repeatedly stated that I like them both better than Dobbins.
Another reason I’m not worried about the fumbles is that it is coachable and he’s already shown the ability to cut the issue by half. NFL coaches will clean that up. Several NFL RB’s have had fumbling issues in college but cleaned it up in the pros. Like Nick Chubb and Sony Micheal both actually had a higher fumble to touch ratio than Taylor did in their final years.
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Let’s talk the mileage on Taylor … I think that’s a bigger concern. He has 926 carries so he has some wear. But he’s been durable unlike KJ. The Lions use a RBBC approach any way and with KJ his carries will be kept in check.
If you want a low wear RB than Swift is your guy. He only has 440 carries. Dobbins has 725 carries for those wondering.
I look at it this way. Taylor was Wisconsin’s offense. Teams knew if they stopped him they would likely win. He faced heavy fronts and still averaged 2000 yrds a season. He’s been highly productive. He’s a true work horse RB.
the question is will OUR coaches clean that up? I like Taylor over Swift -no pun- but Dobbins & Taylor are about tied up to me because of the fumbles Taylor had…In my book Taylor and Dobbins are nearly the same player, Dobbins had his own fumbling issues before as well…I’d give the slight edge to Taylor when it comes to drafting one of them
I generally don’t worry as much about mileage bc with running backs you are mostly looking at the first contract anyways. It sure seems that most teams are reticent to give up that big second contract to a RB.
You know who else was a fumbling machine? Adrian Peterson… Not comparing the two, just saying that you can still be great at the NFL level when you put the ball on the ground
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