Overview

Position: TE

College: College

Class: Junior

Age: 20

 

Measurables

Height: 6’5 1/8”

Weight: 251 lbs.

Arm length: 32 1/4″

Hand size: 10”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: N/A

10-yard split: N/A

Vertical jump: N/A

Broad jump: N/A

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Ideal size. Fluid overall movement skills. Very good speed and acceleration. Hands are big and soft. Catches the ball cleanly on designed throws into the flat. Quick eyes to locate the ball after getting his head around on underneath passes. Catches the ball comfortably out in front of him. Very smooth with body control extending for over-the-shoulder grabs. Excellent hands reaching for throws on his back hip/shoulder. Effective reaching down for low passes. Tremendous catch focus on throws slightly behind him deeper down the field. Works back to the football. Reliable hands with a defender on his back. Good burst off the ball into his route as an in-line tight end. Shows deception at the top of routes to slow down and make an in cut. Will use a vertical head fake to flatten and create separation on crossing routes. Fluid to cross by defenders in coverage. Quick feet to throttle down on stop routes. Steerable agility switching up the route path on broken plays. Aware and gets his feet down along the sideline. Great timing and feel for spacing on delayed routes. Smooth as a runner. Saw plenty of snaps in the slot. Experience lining up outside the numbers. Strong hands to attach as a blocker. Used on long cross-formation blocks after going in motion from the slot. Good hip fluidity and does a nice job positioning himself as a blocker. Gives desired effort to push edge defenders out on outside runs. NFL bloodlines as the son of Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor.

 

Weaknesses

Lacks explosiveness in and out of breaks. Will slow play too many routes versus man coverage. Limited leaping high-point ability in contested coverage. Could be better settling between underneath zones. Does not connect with force as a blocker. General lack of strength and consistency as a blocker. Defenders cross his face too easily as a blocker. Too many misses as a pass blocker and blocking in general.

 

NFL comparison

Luke Schoonmaker

 

Conclusion

Overall, Taylor is a smooth tight end with outstanding hands and the versatility to be used in the slot or as an in-line option. He projects best as a role player for an NFL offense and needs to show more explosiveness as a route runner to reach his ceiling.

 

Big Board ranking: #92 | Positional ranking: #5