Mason Taylor Lands with Dolphins Division Rival

Tight end Mason Taylor became a second-round pick Friday night

Mason Taylor speaking at the 2025 NFL scouting combine | Alain Poupart - Miami Dolphins On SI

Mason Taylor will end up playing for his father's former team after all, but it won't be the Miami Dolphins.

The son of Dolphins Hall of Famer Jason Taylor was selected in the second round of. the 2025 draft by the New York Jets, for whom JT played one season before returning to Miami to close out his career in 2011.

Mason Taylor had been linked before the draft to the Jets, who had a major need at tight end to the point where some thought they might take Tyler Warren with the seventh overall selection.

With the Jets, he'll obviously be facing the Dolphins twice every season.

Taylor, also the nephew of Zach Thomas, was selected with the 42nd overall pick and, as expected, was the third tight end picked after Michigan's Colston Loveland and Warren from Penn State.

Taylor visited with the Dolphins on a local visit before the draft, having played his high school football at St. Thomas Aquinas, though it never seemed realistic to think they would draft him because of their more pressing needs at other positions.

WHAT MASON TAYLOR SAID BEFORE THE DRAFT

Taylor did say he leared a valuable lesson from his father.

"I mean, my dad, even my dad and my uncle, they both weren't the highest recruited coming out of high school or college," he said. "And it just shows that there's no shortcuts to the game. It's a lot of straight hard work and dedication and seeing their work ethic."

Describing the strength of his game, Taylor had this to say: "I would say specifically in the pass game, route running. I think I'm a tremendous route runner. I think I'm running smooth, but again, I can separate myself from defenders. It really just depends. Like, the route tree we had at LSU, sometimes we're kind of running basic routes or something like that. But I think I have the potential to run any route I'm asked to do, whether that's out wide and number one, number two or three spot. I feel like I can run any route."

Taylor, of course, is playing a different position than his Hall of Fame father, who was a defensive end (and sometimes outside linebacker) for his brilliant 15 years in the NFL.