The Seahawks took Darrell Taylor in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. To get more info on Taylor, I asked five questions to All for Tennessee.
The Seahawks surprised probably a lot of people by taking Texas Tech’s Jordyn Brooks in the first round. Fine. Seattle does things like that. But then Seattle made another pick in the second round that surprised nearly as many. This is when the Seahawks took Tennessee’s Darrell Taylor.
Taylor is potentially a very good player. He has good size, great speed and an awesome motor. In college, he either did not have enough help early in his career or played a position later that did not require him to get after the quarterback on every down of every game. Still, he produced good numbers.
Yet, 12s seem underwhelmed a bit with Taylor. Maybe it is name recognition. Or maybe it is the fact his sack numbers weren’t massive in college. They were solid, mind you. But they weren’t the kind where a 12 might be like, “Whoa! This Taylor guy got 18 sacks his senior year!” Maybe this is one reason I hope we are wrong but we only gave him a grade of C+ on the day of him being drafted.
To get more information on Darrell Taylor I went to one of the great sources. Caleb Calhoun of FanSided’s Tennessee Volunteers site All For Tennessee was nice enough to answer five important questions about how Taylor will help the Seahawks in 2020 and beyond. Here are his answers.
College equals greatness
12th Man Rising: What are some of your favorite memories from Darrell Taylor in college, the moments that stand out to you?
Caleb Calhoun: In his first start, back in 2017, Darrell Taylor made the game-saving tackle to beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. GT ran a triple-option that UT could not stop all game, and the battle went into double-overtime. The Yellow Jackets, down 42-35, scored a touchdown and decided to go for two and the win. Taylor sold out to the inside on the option to the right and made the tackle to preserve a 42-41 win, the only highlight of a 4-8 season. That year, he played defensive end.
The next year, Taylor moved to outside linebacker in Jeremy Pruitt’s system, and he had two incredible three-plus sack performances, at the Georgia Bulldogs and Kentucky Wildcats. He also forced two fumbles at Georgia and one against Kentucky. Both of those games stood out.
This past year, Taylor spread out his production more, but his most standout moment came in the Gator Bowl, his final game. The Indiana Hoosiers were down by one late in the fourth and had driven to the UT 36-yard line. On 2nd and 10, Taylor came away with a nine-yard sack to set up a much more difficult field goal, which was missed. That was a huge reason for the Vols winning 22-21.
How will Taylor fit in the Seahawks locker room and on the field
12th Man Rising: What kind of teammate do you think he was and how do you think he will transition off the field to the pros?
Caleb Calhoun: There was a bit of an incident in 2017, when Darrell Taylor got into a fight with another teammate. However, don’t read too much into that because anybody covering the Vols that year knew that Butch Jones had lost control of the program, and the tension oozed from the top down. Since then, he’s had no problems.
Taylor already showed a willingness to transition to outside linebacker when Jeremy Pruitt arrived, and he did everything that was asked of him. His transition should be fine in the pros, and it helps that he’s going to an organization that knows how to develop defensive players and will be invested in him.
12th Man Rising: What are some of the strengths that should help him help the Seahawks?
Caleb Calhoun: Physically, Taylor is all there as a pass rusher. He’s flexible, fast, powerful and quick off the jump. His instincts as a pass-rusher can’t be overlooked either. Versatility is a big help as well. Taylor can line up at defensive end or outside linebacker, so there will be plenty of use for him in Seattle’s system.
Concerns Seahawks might have about Taylor and getting to know the player
12th Man Rising: What would be some of your biggest concerns about him on the field in the NFL?
Caleb Calhoun: Given his frame, Taylor appears to be more fit to play outside linebacker rather than defensive end in a 4-3 under like what the Seahawks run. He’s also a bit raw. Then there is his injury history. He had to have surgery back in January to repair a stress fracture in his shin, which he revealed he played with all of last year. That’s what caused him to miss the combine. Although he should be 100 percent by the season, you always worry about a player coming off surgery at the next level.
12th Man Rising: What are some of the things, on the field or off the field or both, 12s might not know about Darrell Taylor but should know?
Caleb Calhoun: Taylor has overcome a lot off the field. His father was incarcerated when he was younger, and his mother died of breast cancer in 2013. He also has a one-year-old son named Ka’Marii.
On the field, Taylor is the only SEC player who had at least eight sacks each of the past two seasons. He also had double-digit tackles for a loss both seasons.