#Patriots UDFA RB J.J. Taylor gives off Dion Lewis vibes, which I don't throw around lightly. At 5-5, 185, Taylor is a compact RB with great contact balance, elusiveness, and receiving skills but subpar long speed.
Could watch him run angle routes out of the backfield all day.
Could watch him run angle routes out of the backfield all day.
Taylor is also a really effective ball carrier on screens and you can throw it to him in the flat and watch him go. He's got great power behind his pads despite his size due to a lower center of gravity and great balance.
As a runner, Taylor's ability to stack moves together and react quickly to incoming tacklers is impressive. His short-area burst to make multiple cuts in a sequence is great. Jump cuts, spin moves, jukes, etc.
Another display of power here. Burrows his way to a first down on third and short by running through contact with ease.
Taylor can cut on a dime and avoid negative plays by avoiding tacklers in the backfield. Dion Lewis was great at that, so is Taylor. Spin move to get out of the TFL.
Some more of that power to lower the pads and run through contact with great balance again. Runs through new teammate Myles Bryant, another #Patriots UDFA signing.
Got some good blocking here but you still see the power and contact balance to run through tackles. Not even a 300+ pound defensive tackle phases him. Just bounces right off, gets the corner, and scores.
One more of him stacking multiple moves together to get into the end zone. That plant and cut to make the first tackler miss is nice. Not only makes him miss, but accelerates through the cut with some good burst too.
Taylor also offers return value. Averaged 24.1 yards per kickoff return in college on 41 attempts. Won't run away from the coverage, but his ability to cut at full speed makes him effective.
Taylor's size leads to durability concerns, but he did stay healthy in college. To me, pass pro and blitz pickup is a bigger worry for making the #Patriots. He is a negative there and probably won't improve much because of his size. Otherwise, promising 3rd down back.
