Taywan Taylor Scouting Report ~ 2017 NFL Draft

* 05/14/17 Update *

Flanker ~ Taywan Taylor ~ Western Kentucky HillToppers ~ 5110/204

Regarding FlankerBacks

Most Fans don't know that WideOuts can generally be broken down into 3 Categories, based on traditional Roles, and that those Roles naturally enough call for 3 distinctive Skill Sets, based on the classic X, Y, and Z Positions:

Split Ends are usually the bigger, taller WideOuts who line up in the X Position, on the Line of Scrimmage.
SlotBacks are usually the quicker, smaller WideOuts who line up at the Y Position, off the Line.
FlankerBacks are usually the faster WideOuts who line up at the Z Position, off the Line.

The Split End prototype would be about 6030/225 or so.
The Flanker prototype would be about 6000/200 or so.
The SlotBack prototype would be about 5010/195 or so.

And I'm adding a 4th: The Slot End.

The term may make some Readers cringe, for the same reason that the term "Jumbo Shrimp" might.

And it's a term, as far as I know, entirely of my own Invention.

But it is of course the perfect Tactical term for a WideOut lined up in the Slot yet on the Line of Scrimmage.

And it strikes me as an excellent term to describe a WideOut who's not necessarily tall ~ like a Split End ~ not necessarily fast ~ like a FlankerBack ~ and not necessarily spry ~ like a SlotBack ~ and is often a bit Beefy. Not necessarily beefy enough to take on a Flex End's Blocking Responsibilites, but beefy enough for a Split End's.

I'm talking about WideOuts who're well suited to catch Balls in Traffic, and Move The Chains.

However a given Coach chooses to deploy the Soldiers at his disposal is of course entirely up to him, and most WideOuts will see Snaps at multiple Positions and in multiple Alignments, but I believe that it is valuable to categorize WideOuts in terms of classic Skill Sets, to better define the differences in the kind of Impact they might wield at the next level.

This is how I break things down when I'm evaluating all WideOuts:

Separation: Getting Open. This encompasses Combat Skills & Fluidity to beat Press, Acceleration out'f the Blocks, Fluidity and Ricochet in navigating Traffic, Route Running Precision, the capacity to deceive Defenders, and Field Vision for Timing Seems and Open Zones. All other Aspects of a WideOut's Job Description are dwarfed by this one.

Catch Point Capacity: In Transit or Contested: Hands, WingSpan, Vertical Agility, Combat Skills, and Timing.

Yards After Catch are well and fine, but it seems to me that 90% of the Value of a Flex End and any WideOut is getting open and catching the Ball. Anyone who's read my Work extensively knows that I consider Blocking to be the Heart & Soul of FootBall, but that is a philosophical position, and I recognize that with most Philosophies, where it comes to Wide Receivers and Flex Ends...it's just Gravy. And so is Yards After Catch: Moving The Chains is What Wins.

Chunk Yardage: An highly overrated Aspect of the Game, I believe, so much so that in fact I didn't even include it in 2016. It is not a negligible Aspect of the Game, so I'm bringing it back, but getting open, catching the Ball, and Moving the Chains are far more crucial to a Team's Success, I believe, than making Splash Plays and getting on ESPN HighLights Reels. Power, Fluidity, Ricochet, Speed, Combat Skills, and Processing Speed/Field Vision all play into Chunk Yardage.

Blocking: It was a Mistake to leave this Aspect ~ my very favorite Aspect of FootBall ~ out'f 2016's Flex End Reports, and I'm very happy to correct that Mistake, evermore. Blocking of course comes down to Power, Agility, Frame, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor, and further breaks down into In Line Blocking and Open Field Blocking.

Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:

Separation

* Combat Skills
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Routing
* Deception
* Field Vision

Catch Point Capacity
Catch Point Capacity
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* Vertical Agility
* Hands
* WingSpan

Chunk Yardage

* Power
* Fluidity
* Ricochet
* Speed
* Combat Skills
* Field Vision

Blocking

* Power
* Agility
* Frame
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor

Taywan Taylor ~ Scouting Report

Separation: Magnificent.

Press Coverage: Competitive. This is of marginal Importance for a Flanker who by definition plays Off the Line, but of course all WideOuts will be deployed at any number of Positions in any number of Formations, so the more Positions that a WideOut can play effectively, the better. At 5110, Taylor should of course not be deployed at Split End or Slot End too frequently, but his Core Power is tremendous and his Combat Skills are impressive, so he can compete.

Agility: Phenomenal. Excellent Acceleration out'f the Gate, and outstanding Speed, DownField, combined with explosive Ricochet out'f'is Breaks and serpentine Fluidity: He's quick, he's slippery, he's smooth, and he's fast.

Routing: Extraordinary. A complete Route Running Repertoire. Short Passes, Long Passes, Slants, ComeBacks, and all the rest, and he runs those Routes from all over the Formation. Tremendous Processing Speed and Field Vision, too, consistently and effectively anticipating Seems and Open Zones, and exhibiting highly deceptive Moves.

As far as Getting Open is concerned, Taywan Taylor is a genuine Artist: His combination of Agility and Route Running Savvy are absolutely stratospheric. He can get open Short, Intermediate, and Long...and horizontally.

Catch Point Capacity: Impressive.

Tracking & Timing: Tremendous, both In Transition and on Contested Catches.

Contested Catches: Competitive. He's 5110, but he's tough, he's powerful, and his Combat Skills are impressive.

Hands: Impressive. A tad inconsistent, but he usually extends well, has an excellent WingSpan, and usually pulls it in.

Taylor isn't as effective on Contested Catches as he is In Transition, but he's competitive on the former, and tremendous on the latter, and his combination of Agility and Routing Excellence obviously means much more'f those.

Chunk Yardage: Outstanding. Taylor combines terrific Field Vision with a deadly Arsenal of Fluidity, Ricochet, Acceleration, and Speed. He transitions rapidly, he's absolutely ferocious, and is one Hell of a lot Stronger than he looks.

Blocking: Marginal. Eh, he's a Flanker. Decent Effort. Marginal Power and Combat Skills.

Taywan Taylor ~ Prospectus

Sometimes, I just know that I'm gonna love a Prospect, even before I see a single Snap, and Taywan Taylor did not disappoint. I know that he played Division 364 or whatever, but I don't care: His Game translates.

Taylor's 5110, so it's not particularly advantageous to line'm up at Slot End or Split End, and that height costs'm on Contested Catches, as well, as do his occasionally inconsistent Hands, I freely admit.

But Taywan Taylor brings a devastating combination of explosive Speed and serpentine Fluidity to the Field of Battle, and these athletic attributes are not wasted on the raw, for he has developed his Route Running Repertoire, his exquisitely deceptive hornswoggling,  and his capacity to rapidly read and react to the Tactical LandScape to such a deliciously delightful and deadly degree, that there is simply no Secondary that can keep him covered for very long.

I have very little Doubt, Taylor's Division 647 Pedigree notwithstanding, that he will, despite general expectorations, develop rapidly, and indeed will exhibit the capacity to start on Opening Day his very first Year...and excel, thereafter.

He's both highly Driven and highly Intelligent, you see ~ Trajectory!! ~ as evidenced by his remarkably refined Route Running Repertoire, by his Fearlessness in Traffic, and by his outstanding Field Vision.

He has exhibited the capacities both to work his Ass off...and to benefit immensely from the Work.

High Ceiling.

High Floor.

Pay the Man.

* Update: His 40 Time was mediocre, but he's fast where it matters ~ on the Field of Battle ~ and his 3 Cone time ~ far more important in my Eyes ~ was sensational, as he slaughtered the Field. Unchanged. Pay the Man!!

Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!

Yank Rank: Beast ~ Deeper Sleeper!!

Market Value

4th/5th Round

Yankee Grade

1st Round!!

Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!