How J.J. Taylor fits in with the New England Patriots
After not getting called in the seven rounds of the NFL Draft, former Wildcat J.J. Taylor has signed with the New England Patriots, and here’s how he fits.
The 2020 NFL Draft was not a good one for the Arizona Football program. After being the only Pac-12 member school to not have a draft pick selected, luckily the free agency route has been fortuitous as J.J. Taylor has signed with the Patriots, Jace Whittaker with the Cardinals and the Khalil Tate with the Eagles.
I will say I got it wrong, I thought Taylor was a lock to likely be picked between the fifth and seventh round. Alas, he was not.
Arizona Wildcats
A highly-productive collegiate player, Taylor apparently didn’t dazzle the scouts enough. Was it because he only ran a 4.61 40-yard dash? Were there concerns over him being measured at just 5-feet-5-inches?
Who knows? We figured with the track record of other players like; Darren Sproles and Tarik Cohen, there would be a possibility he would get drafted by a team.
Unfortunately that didn’t go as planned, however, following the draft, Taylor was in a unique position in that he could virtually sign with any team he wants.
Just last week I had outlined why I felt like the New England Patriots’ organization would potentially be a great fit along with a few other teams, should he have gone to New England. Well, it seems as if someone was listening, as Taylor heads to Foxboro!
Drawing some similarities to former Patriot Danny Woodhead and perhaps even Dion Lewis, Taylor is a versatile player that typically fares well in a Bill Belichick offense. Taylor shows value as a runner, while also being a good pass catcher out of the backfield and even a solid blocker.
Additionally, Taylor is easily coachable, doing anything you ask of him, but more importantly, he’s a spark plug player that will make exciting plays and will fight for those tough yards in the trenches.
Here’s a reminder of just how impressive Taylor is!
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At Zona Zealots, we would like to wish J.J. the best as he heads to New England! Hopefully he can continue to find success! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!