5 winners and losers from Seattle Seahawks 2023 training camp Week 2

Loser No. 2 - Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Darrell Taylor

I like Darrell Taylor a bunch, but I also had higher hopes for him as a player. Yes, I realize that sounds somewhat silly as Taylor had 9.5 sacks in 2022, but just looking at those numbers is really misleading. Taylor had 6.5 of those sacks in the last six games of the season. He only had 13 quarterback hits which basically means he got home or he didn't make an impact.

Taylor is also astonishingly bad against the run. He's all speed. This is great if a player participates in a league that is all pass, but clearly, the NFL is not. Taylor needs to gain a little mass to be able to take on run blockers and learn how to defend the run better because he is atrocious in doing so. He is a third-down pass rusher at this point only and that won't work long-term, except for maybe a veteran who is past 30 years old who has shown he can do various things but then mostly focuses on the pass. Taylor is only 26.

The problem for Taylor, though not the Seahawks, is that Seattle has chosen two edge rushers in the last two drafts that look like they can play the run and the pass. Boye Mafe (see previous slide) was taken in 2022, and the Seahawks chose Derick Hall in 2023. Both Mafe and Hall have quite a bit more girth than Taylor. Can they play the pass as well as the run in real games? They have in training camp so far.

Taylor is also now dealing with a hurt shoulder. He was in a sling last week, but not this week so far, though he isn't yet participating in contract drills. Any reps Taylor loses he is losing to Hall or Mafe and that could force him further down the depth chart.