Draft Prospect Profile | RB J.J. Taylor, Arizona

J.J. Taylor

Height:5-foot 6
Weight: 185 lbs.
Grade: Senior
School: Arizona

The comparisons to Chicago Bears’ running back Tarik Cohen are inevitable with Taylor, but they’re not lazy if you watch the film.

Taylor combines his diminutive height with an exceptional burst, agility, and contact balance for a player of his size.

Much like Cohen, Taylor has elements that remind fans of the human joystick, with quick feet and an immense ability to make defenders miss in space.

He ran an abysmal 40, 4.61, which isn’t indicative of how he looks on tape. Taylor showed adequate lower body explosiveness, leaving some to be desired with a 34.5” vertical, and just under 10-foot broad jump.

He also did 19 bench press reps and ran a 7.00 3-cone, which is in the 60th percentile

Even though Taylor can make tacklers miss, despite his disappointing athletic testing at the combine, he plays with a physical mentality. He isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder and run through defensive backs.

A receiving threat in his senior season, with 32 catches for 289 yards, judging by the tape, he was underutilized in that capacity.

Taylor rushed for 721 yards and 5 touchdowns on 148 touches. In 2018, Taylor was used much more as a rusher with 255 attempts for 1434 (5.6 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns.

Smaller running backs, who possess a low center of gravity, tend to have very good contact balance, which is on display in the video below.

Smaller backs are also hard to find when surrounded by behemoth offensive lineman. This works to the advantage of the running back in the game of cat & mouse that they play with defenders.

Why He’s a Fit

The Giants need to find a long-term complement for Saquon Barkley--a running back that brings something different to the table, and Taylor fits this mold.

Jason Garrett is not opposed to rolling out 21-personnel and riding two running backs. Taylor would be a massive mismatch against a lot of linebackers and force teams to be in their nickel package, which could open up lanes for Barkley.

Furthermore, Barkley and Taylor would form mismatch nightmares for the defense. Taylor can be lined up in the backfield, in the slot, out wide to take advantage of a linebacker in space. His presence would affect teams that lack athletic linebackers.

Garrett was able to implement Tavon Austin’s skill set into the Cowboys game plan; if Taylor finds himself in New York, Garrett will do the same, and I would love to see how the Giants running backs would be utilized with Barkley and Taylor at the helm.