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Tennessee football: Vols LB Darrell Taylor’s five best NFL Draft landing spots

By Caleb Calhoun

JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Darrell Taylor #19 of the Tennessee Volunteers in action on defense during the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers at TIAA Bank Field on January 2, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Tennessee defeated Indiana 23-22. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Darrell Taylor #19 of the Tennessee Volunteers in action on defense during the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers at TIAA Bank Field on January 2, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Tennessee defeated Indiana 23-22. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images /

As an edge rusher, Tennessee football outside linebacker Darrell Taylor’s 2020 NFL Draft stock is up. Here are the top landing spots for the Volunteers OLB.

Despite a nagging injury that even forced him to miss the combine, Darrell Taylor is the fastest-rising star in the 2020 NFL Draft among Tennessee football prospects. And it seems to have happened overnight.

Just recently, former scout and current NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah tweeted that Taylor is among four people who could go higher than expected based on his conversations with NFL GMs. That’s been a recurring theme over the past week.

It all makes sense. As a pure edge rusher who can line up at defensive end in be an ultimate game-changer, there are lots of positives when it comes to the guy who was truly a breakout star for Tennessee football in Jeremy Pruitt’s defensive schemes the past two years.

Having experience in a nickel-based 4-3 defense and a multiple defense that operates out of a 3-4 base gives the 6’4″ 255-pound prospect a great chance to fit in with multiple defenses. Then there’s the production factor, which also increases his NFL Draft value.

Taylor had at least eight sacks and double-digit tackles for a loss each of the past two years, a big deal. As we get set to look at the teams that will be the best fit for him, it’s pretty clear that teams valuing production will give him the biggest look.

Of course, there is the injury concern and the fear that he may be a bit too much of a tweener, somewhere between a true lineman and a linebacker. However, he’s definitely somebody who deserves a chance to fit in somewhere.

He may not have the multiple options that Daniel Bituli does, but Taylor can sell being more of a playmaker, so teams focused on edge rushers will all be scouting him heavily, as that’s a more limited position to find talent at. Let’s go ahead and see where Taylor would like to end up. These are the Tennessee football edge rusher’s five best NFL Draft landing spots.

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