Darrell Taylor
Edge Rusher
6’4″ 267 pounds; Hopewell, Va.
Projected NFL Draft landing spots:
- NFL.com (Peter Schrager) – Seattle Seahawks: Round 1; Pick 30
- CBS – Arizona Cardinals: Round 3; Pick 72
- NFL.com (Chad Reuter) – Las Vegas Raiders: Round 3; Pick 80
- FanSided – Las Vegas Raiders: Round 3; Pick 81
- SI.com – Los Angeles Rams: Round 3; Pick 84
- Sporting News – Las Vegas Raiders: Round 3; Pick 91
- DraftSite – Denver Broncos: Round 3; Pick 95
- Bleacher Report – Atlanta Falcons: Round 4; Pick 119
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While Jauan Jennings and Daniel Bituli are known commodities, Darrell Taylor is a complete wildcard. However, his stock has been rising fast over the past two weeks, and he’s almost certain to be Tennessee football’s first player taken. Only Sporting News has him going behind the highest projection of anybody else from Rocky Top, and that person is Jennings.
In terms of numbers, Taylor’s hype makes sense. He did have at least eight sacks and double-digit tackles for losses over each of the past two years, benefiting from Jeremy Pruitt’s switch to a 3-4 defense. However, Taylor played all last year banged up and missed the combine due to injury. That means his production and the high demand for an edge rusher alone are lifting his stock.
Clearly the Las Vegas Raiders are the favorite to land him, as three different mock drafts have him going there, and they would be a great place for him. Jon Gruden will give a fair shake to guys from Rocky Top, even in Paul Guenther’s 4-3. The Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos are also great spots, as they run an aggressive 3-4. He might get lost in the shuffle with Arizona.
However, Taylor’s lowest and highest NFL Draft projections would both be solid. Seattle would develop him to thrive in its 4-3 under defense, and Atlanta always needs an edge rusher. They would value what he did with Tennessee football. So any of these places would work, and given his rising stock, it seems like any place will work.