30 Days of Colts' Fits: Alontae Taylor, CB, Tennessee

The 2022 NFL Draft is officially just a month away. In order to help you all along until draft day, I decided to start a daily prospect spotlight series to talk about some players that the Colts could target next month.

The players mentioned in this series will be players that I have either heard that the team is really high on, or are players that just make way too much sense for the team based on fit/past draft history.

Next up on the countdown to Draftmas is Tennessee cornerback Alontae Taylor.

Background

Taylor is a former four star recruit that chose to attend Tennessee over Notre Dame and Georgia out of high school. He went on to appear in 45 games for the Volunteers over his four year career, starting in 31 games.

Taylor was a productive defensive back for a team that struggled to compete in the SEC. He finished his career with 162 total tackles, 5.0 tackles for a loss, 15 pass deflections, 4.0 interceptions, and 3.0 forced fumbles. He was named as an All-SEC honoree in 2021 for his efforts.

Off the field, Taylor is a pretty well-rounded individual as well. He is a three-time All-SEC Honor Roll honoree and he was a member of the SEC Leadership Council in his final two years.

Taylor was also invited to the 2022 Reese's Senior Bowl following his final season.

Former #Vols CB Alontae Taylor said yesterday that he wanted to show scouts he can catch the ball. He felt he did that at Tennessee's Pro Day, showing off his hands.

He did some one-off worth with Browns and Chargers personnel, along with the other DBs. #VFL pic.twitter.com/La5mj1Bgzl
— Kellyanne Stitts (@KellyanneStitts) March 31, 2022

Size/Testing Numbers

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 199 pounds

Arm Length: 32 1/4 inches

Testing Numbers: 40 Time: 4.36 seconds / Vertical Jump: 34.5 inches / Broad Jump: 128 inches

Alontae Taylor 😳 pic.twitter.com/kck7Jn9udq
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) March 31, 2022

Ability on Film

Taylor is a freaky athlete that plays the game at 100 miles per hour. He may need more technical development and nuance added to his game going forward, but it is hard to find another corner that competes like he does on every snap.

This play against Kentucky showcased his potential as a zone cornerback. He is sitting on the sticks here, as he knows that Kentucky QB Will Levis will have to get rid of this ball in a hurry against the blitz.

Taylor sits on the quick out and jumps it, resulting in a pick-six.

Taylor certainly needs some work in man coverage, but he has the ability (and the traits) to be a very good zone cornerback out of the gate. He has good zone eyes, and he is shot out of a cannon every time he comes out of his stance.

He is lined up in an underneath/flat zone on this play below. While his assignment is in the flats, he gets his eyes on the quarterback and notices the tight end running up the seam. He quickly breaks on the seam pass and comes away with a nice pass breakup on the play.

Fit with the Colts/Team Interest

Even with the Colts switching to more of a cover-three base defense, Taylor fits everything the team looks for in their cornerbacks. He is a big, athletic corner that has the traits and ability to excel in zone coverage early.

He is also an absolute dog in the run game and plays the cornerback position with a ton of confidence. While he would be asked to do a little bit more than Colts' corners were asked to do under Matt Eberflus, Taylor has the skill set to excel early in Gus Bradley's scheme.

In terms of interest, I haven't heard anything too concrete just yet. Colts' Area Scout Chad Henry was in attendance at Taylor's Pro Day though, so that is certainly something to monitor. Taylor mostly makes this list because of every box he checks off-- from Senior Bowl to character to desired skill set.

Overall, Taylor would be the perfect player to replace Rock Ya-Sin on the Colts' defense. I don't know how high the team elects to take a corner in this draft, but if they want someone relatively early, Taylor would be a phenomenal fit.

Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.

Follow Horseshoe Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.

Pre-Order Our Indy Draft Guide! Full Guide Drops on April 11th. Only $8.99 with the code "draft"