Seattle Seahawks most overrated player deserves one more chance
Darrell Taylor flashed very little in 2023 - but...
Primed for a great year in 2023, Taylor regressed. Not only did his sacks drop by nearly half (9.5 to 5.5), but his forced fumbles dropped to just one. He did stop four of six drives, although Seattle was just 2-1 in those games. The Seahawks split the two games in which his sacks didn't stop the opponents from scoring. I'm not implying that he bears any outsize responsibility for the losses, any more than the credit for a win, but it's interesting data, nonetheless.
Date | Opponent | Qtr/Time | Down/Distance | Field Position | - Yardage | Drive Stopped | W/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10-22-2023 | ARI Dobbs | 3rd 6:19 | 3rd 2 | ARI 18 | - 0 (Half) | Yes/punt | W 20-10 |
10-22-2023 | ARI Dobbs | 4th 1:50 | 2nd 10 | SEA 46 | -12 FF ARI | Yes/downs | |
10-29-2023 | CLE Walker | 4th 0:28 | 3rd 10 | CLE 25 | - 9 | Yes/downs | W 24-20 |
11-23-2023 | SF Purdy | 2nd 11:11 | 3rd 11 | SEA 43 | -1 | Yes/punt | L 13-31 |
11-30-23 | DAL Prescott | 1st 6:56 | 2nd 8 | DAL 27 | -8 | No/TD | L 35-41 |
1-07-2024 | ARI Murray | 4th 0:17 | 1st 10 | SEA 30 | -2 | NO/Miss FG | W 21-20 |
4/2 | 3/2 |
One of the things that stands out for 2023 is the number of sacks he had late in the game. Three sacks with less than two minutes in the game, and all three killed drives in games that Seattle won. The last pushed the Cards back just enough to make their potential game-winning field goal a 51-yard attempt. That was the difference between 9-8 or a losing season. In the long term, it didn't matter, but it beats the heck out of losing.
One more stat that jumped out to me was the number of backup quarterbacks that Taylor victimized. While not all were considered backups at the time (Carson Wentz being Exhibit A), they were truly backups. 14 of his career 21/5 sacks came against guys that should never have been in the game in the first place. Yes, I'm counting Baker Mayfield here as he'd been on the Rams roster for all of about 16 minutes at that point. Yes, he played against the same QBS as every other Seattle defender, but it's still worth noting.
I backtracked a few weeks ago and said keeping Taylor was a smart move by the Seahawks. The biggest reason then (and now) is that they have the entire offseason to figure out if Macdonald is right. It's only going to cost them $20,000 to find out if Magic Mike can get more out of Taylor than the fits and starts he's shown through three NFL seasons. Those forced fumbles and late-game heroics provide a bit more intrigue. Yes, I still believe he's incredibly overrated by many 12s, but I have to say yes, give Darrell Taylor one more shot to prove he can play.
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