Phil Taylor (American football)

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Phil Taylor
refer to caption
Taylor with the Cleveland Browns in 2015
No. 97 Denver Broncos
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1988-04-07) April 7, 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth: Clinton, Maryland
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Career information
High school: Brandywine (MD) Gwynn Park
College: Baylor
NFL draft: 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • PFWA All-Rookie Team (2011)
Career NFL statistics as of 2015
Tackles: 109
Sacks: 7.0
Forced fumbles: 1
Player stats at NFL.com

Phillip Eugene Taylor (born April 7, 1988) is an American football defensive end for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted 21st overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He played college football at Penn State and Baylor.

High school career

A native of Clinton, Maryland, Taylor attended Gwynn Park High School, where he was a two-way lineman for head coach Dan Hayes. In his junior year, he was credited with 30 pancake blocks along offensive line. As a senior, he registered 77 tackles with 10 sacks, earning first-team all-state and Washington Post first-team all-metro honors.[1]

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Taylor was ranked as the No. 11 defensive tackle in the nation, in a class highlighted by Gerald McCoy and Al Woods.[2] Taylor took official visits to Maryland and Penn State only, despite also holding offers by Florida, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech, among others. In January 2006, Taylor committed to Penn State.

College career

After sitting out the first half of his true freshman year at Penn State, Taylor made his collegiate debut against Michigan and went on to play the season's final seven games for the Nittany Lions. In his sophomore year, he sustained a knee injury during preseason drills but still managed to play 12 games on the season, starting the Nittany Lions' final five games. He was credited with 20 tackles, 12 solo efforts, with 6.5 tackles for loss resulting in loss of 26 yards. He also tallied 3.0 sacks, good for loss of 18 yards, and recovered two fumbles. His finale game for Penn State came at the Alamo Bowl against Texas A&M with five-tackle performance that included one tackle for loss.

In October 2007, Taylor was among several Nittany Lions involved in a brawl during a fraternity party at HUB–Robeson Center. He pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct misdemeanor, and was put on probation by Joe Paterno. In the summer of 2008, Taylor and Chris Baker were involved in a minor pool party fracas, which resulted in both being ejected from the team.[3][4] Taylor eventually transferred to Baylor in September 2008 and sat out the season in compliance with NCAA Division I transfer policy.

As a junior in 2009, Taylor earned his first Baylor letter, playing all 12 games and started nine. For the season, he totaled 25 tackles (2.5 for loss), an assisted sack, five QB hurries, two blocked kicks and one interception, despite battling a “turf toe” injury through the middle portion of the season. In May 2010, Taylor spent two weeks in Nairobi on a sports mission trip to Kenya with other Baylor athletes.[5] He entered his senior year having shed almost 30 pounds, and started all 13 games at nose guard. He totaled 62 tackles (35 solo)—the most by a Baylor interior lineman since Ethan Kelley in 2002—, seven for loss including two sacks, three QB hurries, two pass breakups and one forced fumble. In his final college career game, the Texas Bowl against Illinois, Taylor had a career-high 10 tackles.

Professional career

Taylor in 2011.

2011 NFL Draft

For his physical abilities, Taylor was projected a safe first-round selection in the 2011 NFL Draft.[6] He was drafted 21st overall by the Cleveland Browns. Taylor was the highest-selected Baylor defensive tackle since Daryl Gardener in 1996.

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 3 in 334 lb 34 in 10¾ in 5.14 s 4.77 s 7.75 s 29½ in 31 reps
All values from 2011 NFL Scouting Combine.

Cleveland Browns

After a four-day holdout, Taylor signed a four-year contract worth $8.1 million.[7] During his rookie season, Taylor started every game and finished the season with 59 tackles, 4 sacks, and a forced fumble. Taylor was a major standout in his rookie season, outperforming higher picks of the same position such as Nick Fairley and Corey Liuget.

In 2011, Taylor enjoyed his best season where he had 59 tackles and four sacks.[8]

Taylor (right) and Chris Ogbonnaya in 2014.

Taylor was also selected to the Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie team of 2011, with teammate Jabaal Sheard.[9]

On September 1, 2015 the Browns released Taylor.[10]

Taylor started 42 games for the Cleveland Browns, posting seven sacks and 69 tackles.[11]

Denver Broncos

On February 22, 2016, after sitting out the entire 2015 season, Taylor signed with the Denver Broncos.[11][8]

NFL stats

Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
2011 CLE 16 59 37 22 4.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2012 CLE 8 14 12 2 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2013 CLE 15 26 14 12 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2014 CLE 5 10 6 4 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Career 44 109 69 40 7.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

[12]

Key

  • GP: games played
  • COMB: combined tackles
  • TOTAL: total tackles
  • AST: assisted tackles
  • SACK: sacks
  • FF: forced fumbles
  • FR: fumble recoveries
  • FR YDS: fumble return yards
  • INT: interceptions
  • IR YDS: interception return yards
  • AVG IR: average interception return
  • LNG: longest interception return
  • TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
  • PD: passes defensed

References

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External links