Mike DiNovo/USA Today Sports
Taylor could not outrun all the competition at wide receiver
Taywan Taylor can outrun a lot of people in the NFL.
Ultimately, though, the wide receiver got lost in the crowd of wide receivers the Tennessee Titans have acquired in recent seasons. No longer was his most notable attribute – his speed – enough to make him stand out.
As a result, the Titans traded Taylor to the Cleveland Browns (their Week 1 opponent) on Saturday as part of the moves needed to get to the regular-season roster limit of 53 players.
A 2017 third-round pick (72overall) out of Western Kentucky, Taylor played 29 games in his two seasons with Tennessee. He caught 53 passes for 697 yards and two touchdowns.
Two things ultimately convinced coaches and franchise officials that they could live without the 5-foot-11, 203-pound speedster.
First, he was not reliable enough as a receiver. He led the team in dropped passes each of the last two years (three in 2017, four in 2018) and ultimately caught just 63.1 percent of the passes that came his way. By comparison, Tajae Sharpe, a fifth-round pick in 2016, has dropped just four passes in his two seasons (he missed all of 2017 with an injury) and Sharpe has been targeted 130 times in his career as compared to 84 for Taylor.
Second, he did not carve out a role for himself on special teams. The Titans kept six wide receivers on the 53-man roster. That group includes Darius Jennings, who set a franchise record last season when he averaged 31.7 yards per kickoff return, free agent Adam Humphries, who figures into this season’s plans as a punt returner, and Kalif Raymond, Tennessee’s primary return man this preseason who returned punts and kickoffs for three different teams over the past two seasons.
The other wide receivers on the roster are Corey Davis, a first-round pick (2017) and A.J. Brown, a second-round selection (2019). Their respective draft statuses guarantee them plenty of opportunity.
In his first two years, Taylor tantalized team officials in with his big play ability. He had one reception of more than 50 yards in 2017 and again in 2018. In preseason, had two of the Titans’ three longest gains as a rookie (receptions of 48 and 42 yards) and last summer his 47-yard touchdown catch against Tampa Bay was last preseason’s biggest play.
He did not show that same knack this preseason – he averaged just 9.5 yards on six receptions and did not have a gain longer than 19 yards – and the Titans decided they had seen enough.
