Tennessee football in 2020 NFL Draft: Ranking eight Vols as pro prospects

Although Daniel Bituli is a more versatile player than Darrell Taylor and showed more consistent production in college, Taylor had the proven production for Tennessee football to show he is an NFL talent. After five years in college, Taylor also has some of his own versatility, as he started out playing defensive end and had to move to outside linebacker in Jeremy Pruitt’s system.

Then there are the switches many defenses are making now that mean less competition for an elite edge rusher than for a linebacker to make it at the next level, and a guy experienced in that, like Taylor, has a better chance to succeed. Because of that, we have to put Taylor slightly ahead of Bituli on here, even though both guys could be taken in the NFL Draft and have great potential.

For two straight years, Taylor had at least eight sacks and double-digit tackles for a loss with the Vols. He had two games of three sacks or more in 2018, and he spread his production out in 2019. His production also shows in big moments, as he had the key sack to win the Gator Bowl.

Now, Taylor did not do himself any favors by not being able to go to the combine. He had to deal with an injury issue, and that’s one thing that hurts his draft stock, but he and Bituli were both banged up last year, and he should be fine when the year hits.