2013 NFL Draft: Jamar Taylor Scouting Report

Prospect Name: Jamar Taylor

School: Boise State

Class: Redshirt Senior

Height/Weight: 5'10 192

40 time: 4.39 (official Combine time)

Projected Round: 2 - 3

The tape:

Taylor vs BYU

Taylor vs UNLV

Taylor vs Michigan State and Washington

Pros:

• Taylor is a very instinctive tackler when in run support. Isn't scared to make a tackle on anyone.
  
• The recovery speed from his back pedal in off man coverage is quite remarkable as evidenced in his tapes and at the Combine.
• Taylor has good fluid hip control to turn and run on downfield routes.
• He's physical in press coverage play calls and uses his strong hands to guide the receiver very well.
  
• The underrated strength and physicality allows him to go up the ladder and fight for the 50/50 balls with no issues.

Cons:

• Injury history is something to keep in mind when watching him. He broke his leg in 2011 and was forced to miss the second half of the year.
  
• While stout in run support, he isn't the best tackler in the world, frequently goes for arm tackles and the highlight hit instead of wrapping up properly.
• A candidate to work on the Jugs machine A LOT. He needs to make the tough catches instead of body catching at times.
  
• The schedule wasn't exactly packed with bowl eligible contenders that could have given him some competition. In typical Boise fashion, they only had one game to really go all out for in 2012, which was the season opener against Michigan State. In that game, he got a lot of tackling practice on Le'Veon Bell since the Spartans' passing attack featured a freshman QB and was anemic at best. BYU was the only other game the Broncos had to actually try to win in. He was all over the place in the bowl game against Washington.
  

Additional notes:

Taylor had a great Senior Bowl week, showing that he can keep up with the big boy receivers of college football. He had an even better combine, putting up a 4.39 official 40 and 22 bench press reps (aka a whopping 18 more than Honey Badger and 10 more than Damontre Moore.) Taylor also looked the part during the drills and was consistent throughout.

The Verdict:

Would I consider him in the second round? Yes I would. Selecting Taylor would allow Alterraun Verner to slide inside to the nickel role where he might be best suited and provides insurance should Verner leave next year via free agency. Taylor is an ideal corner that can play a lot of zone in Jerry Gray's zone heavy scheme. Fortunately for Gray when he's tempted to call the much derided play the corners from outside of the stadium prevent defense, Taylor has the recovery speed to back up his physical style.