Demetrius Taylor lengthens Lions’ history with undrafted rookies

As the Detroit Lions make their final cuts to 53 players, rookie defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor has reportedly survived.

The Detroit Lions established they would be a meritocracy as much as possible last year, without regard to draft status, contract or recognizable name. This year’s camp and preseason has been more competitive so it’s notable, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, that rookie defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor has made the 53-man roster.

Taylor went undrafted in April out of Applachian State, though the Lions met with him at his Pro Day according to Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire. He was a three-time All-Sun Belt performer for the Mountaineers, with 26.5 career sacks (20 over his last three seasons) and 46 tackles for loss (double-digits in each of his last three seasons).

Taylor, who measures at just a little over six feet tall, earned a nickname from Lions’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn early in training camp.

Via SI.com:

"Yeah ‘Sawed Off,’ that’s AG’s (Aaron Glenn) name for him. This kid is — man, he works, and he’s a grinder,” Dan Campbell told reporters about Taylor’s performance early in training camp. “Man, he can run the hoop, he plays with leverage. He’s just one of those guys that, just, we could be sitting here at the end of camp and he just won’t go away, and I mean that in a great way, man. He just won’t go away because he just keeps getting better and better and better."

Demetrius Taylor extends Lions’ history of keeping undrafted rookies

Last year, tight end Brock Wright and cornerbacks Jerry Jacobs and AJ Parker made the Lions’ 53-man roster as undrafted rookies and made noticeable contributions during the season. As noted by Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, the Lions have a solid history of keeping undrafted rookies over the past decade-plus.

Taylor had a strong camp and a solid preseason to push himself firmly into the conversation for a roster spot. The question was if the Lions would keep him on the final 53-man heading into the season, and they did.