{"id":84000,"date":"2020-04-02T09:00:08","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=84000"},"modified":"2020-03-30T21:43:58","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T01:43:58","slug":"j-j-taylor-2020-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/04\/02\/j-j-taylor-2020-nfl-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"J.J. Taylor 2020 NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>J.J. Taylor Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Position<\/strong>: Running Back<br \/>\n<strong>Height: <\/strong>5\u2019-5\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>Weight:<\/strong> 185 pounds<br \/>\n<strong>School<\/strong>: Arizona<\/p>\n<p><strong>NFL Combine Performance Data<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>40-Yard Dash: <\/strong>4.61 seconds<br \/>\n<strong>Bench Press: <\/strong>19 reps<br \/>\n<strong>Vertical Jump: <\/strong>34.5\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>Broad Jump: <\/strong>118.0\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>J.J. Taylor 2020 NFL Draft Profile<\/h2>\n<p>After spending four seasons with Arizona, running back <strong>J.J. Taylor<\/strong> is looking to continue his career at the NFL level. The relatively undersized running back split snaps in 2019 but still managed to put together a strong season. In total, Taylor recorded 719 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 147 attempts (4.9 yards-per-carry). Additionally, Taylor added on another 33 receptions for 292 yards in the passing game.<\/p>\n<p>Taylor initially joined the college football ranks as a three-star recruit in 2016. After redshirting through his first year at Arizona, the California native earned a committee role in 2017. In total, Taylor finished the season with 836 rushing yards on 145 carries to go along with 12 receptions for 45 yards. He saw his biggest workload to date in 2018, recording 1,426 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 254 carries combined with 16 receptions for 133 yards.<\/p>\n<h3>Strengths<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Solid option in the pass game with reliable hands;<\/li>\n<li>Despite his height, isn\u2019t afraid to run between the tackles and can be surprisingly effective;<\/li>\n<li>Quick on his feet and able to make guys miss;<\/li>\n<li>So small he can disappear behind the offensive line (see: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WoodDa02.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Danny Woodhead<\/a><\/strong>);<\/li>\n<li>Low center of gravity allows his to fall forward after getting tackled;<\/li>\n<li>Can contribute as a kick returner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Weaknesses<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Not an explosive player \u2013 big plays are few and far between;<\/li>\n<li>Below-average tape and testing speed;<\/li>\n<li>As expected from a 5\u2019-5\u201d player, catch radius is limited;<\/li>\n<li>Doesn\u2019t have the potential to consistently line up in the slot and win;<\/li>\n<li>Won\u2019t be able to win with power at the NFL level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>NFL Comparison: <\/strong>Danny Woodhead<\/p>\n<p><strong>Teams With Need at Position:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/bills\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buffalo Bills<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/texans\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Houston Texans<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/chiefs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/dolphins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Miami Dolphins<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/jets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Jets<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/buccaneers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Projection: <\/strong>5<sup>th<\/sup>\/6<sup>th<\/sup> round<\/p>\n<h3>Bottom Line on J.J. Taylor<\/h3>\n<p>J.J. Taylor is not a special talent, but he could last in the NFL if he lands in the right spot. While some teams are going to be turned off by his size, running backs like Danny Woodhead, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/L\/LewiDi00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dion Lewis<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/R\/RodgJa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jacquizz Rodgers<\/a><\/strong> proved it\u2019s possible for shorter running backs to succeed in the NFL. As a runner, Taylor is capable of reading his blocks, picking up the available yardage, and making guys miss along the way. His height sometimes works to his advantage, as linebackers have a difficult time finding a 5\u20195\u201d runner behind a wall of 6\u2019-3\u201d monsters. In the passing game, Taylor has soft, reliable hands and the lateral agility to make guys miss and be a genuine threat in the passing game.<\/p>\n<p>J.J. Taylor can be a decent backup, but he probably won\u2019t ever be a true starter. He lacks the ideal explosiveness for the position and doesn\u2019t have the speed to outrun the defense when in the open field. Additionally, he\u2019s not an exceptional route runner and his limited catch radius means his passing game involvement will be limited to just stuff out of the backfield. Still, there is a role for that type of player, and Taylor should be able to fight for a backup spot in just about any backfield.<\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"0pnDlJgUTwxMfaaUJdLDNQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1186526894\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'0pnDlJgUTwxMfaaUJdLDNQ',sig:'4YGV_fzlOqv4heZ9bZswoBLDpP6z4H7AvTXevp1Pf4o=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1186526894',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After four years at Arizona, running back J.J. Taylor looks to bring his career to the next level via the 2020 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":84001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647],"tags":[5273,177,592,1192,61,114,912,122,89,218,40,308],"class_list":["post-84000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","tag-2020-nfl-draft","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-danny-woodhead","tag-dion-lewis","tag-football","tag-houston-texans","tag-jacquizz-rodgers","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}