Devin Taylor: 2016 Breakout Candidate
By Matt Urben
Taylor has grown accustomed to being overlooked up to this point in his career. When he was at South Carolina, he played opposite Jadeveon Clowney, the eventual first-overall pick in the 2014 Draft.
Devin Taylor had an impressive seven sacks in 2015 as a rotational defensive end, backing up starters Jason Jones and Ziggy Ansah. With Jones signing in Miami last week, Taylor will get every chance to be the full-time starter opposite Ansah in 2016.
He has come a long way since he was drafted in the fourth-round of the 2013 NFL Draft. As former head coach Jim Schwartz stated when Detroit took Taylor in the same draft that they selected Ansah fifth overall, when you use high pick on a certain position, it is easy to overlook other draft picks playing that same position. Ansah has blossomed into a pro-bowler, finishing last season with 14.5 sacks.
Taylor has grown accustomed to being overlooked up to this point in his career. When he was at South Carolina, he played opposite Jadeveon Clowney, the eventual first-overall pick in the 2014 Draft. Clowney struggled in his final season at South Carolina without Taylor and hasn’t done much in the NFL thus far.
Being 6-foot-7, 280 lbs, with an impressive 4.75 40-yard-dash time, you would think there would have been more hype around Taylor. When you spend most of your career playing next to two top-5 draft picks, that’s bound to happen.
Taylor has always been steady, but not much of a difference-maker since joining the Lions. His run-stopping ability is solid, but he’s been inconsistent generating pass rush, up until last season. The Lions had invested significant resources and draft picks in Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley, Ansah and Jones, all players that started in front of Taylor.
With all of them gone except Ansah, the time is now for Taylor to make the most of his starting opportunity. Jones was a very similar player, both in size and playing style, which is one of the reasons he has gotten the nod over Taylor to this point. Jones was able to slide over to defensive tackle when needed, an ability that Taylor has improved at over his three seasons with the Lions.
The Lions have essentially revamped their defensive line over the past two off-seasons, this year drafting highly-touted defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson in the second-round. Ansah has developed into the best defensive lineman on the team and Haloti Ngata played much better down the stretch last season. With opposing offenses likely to be keying in on Ziggy and Ngata, that should leave a single blocker to try and stop Taylor on most plays.
Whether or not he can capitalize on it will go a long way in determining the team’s long-term view of the defensive end position. Taylor has earned this chance after three seasons of solid rotational play on one of the better defensive lines in football. He certainly has all the physical attributes needed to be a successful starting end in the NFL. If he can break out next season, it bodes well for the Lions’ defense next season and looking forward into the future.