NFL Draft 2020 Scouting Report: DT Calvin Taylor, Kentucky

*DL grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, leaked Wonderlic test results, etc. We will update ratings as new info becomes available.

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BACKGROUND…

 -- 6’8.2”/310

 -- Underrecruited for football due to being a coveted high school basketball player, and it was assumed he was going to college to play basketball1.

 -- Agricultural Economics graduate

TAPE AND RANDOM NOTES…

 -- Played 4-3 DT mostly in the games I watched, but also played some 3-4 DE.

 -- Obvious ‘reach’ ability for his position…he can really get to/grab things and has the ability to bat down passes (4 PDs in 2019).

 -- He looks a little tentative moving around as a 4-3 DT, but I think it’s a bit of an optical illusion…he’s so nimble for 6’8”/310 it seems he’s fragile when he might be graceful (at a non-graceful filled position). Has some DeForest Buckner in him. 

 -- His best attribute…he can slither between lineman, find cracks to leak through with the best of them. His basketball background has him more nimble than most DTs or anyone his size. He has a real ability to move through tight spaces for his size. 

 -- He can flat out fly when he has unencumbered access to the QB. He’s usually gummed up in the interior moving around bodies, as most DTs are every play, but when Taylor gets to really open up/head at the QB…he looks like he is shot out of a cannon. Amazing for his size. 

 -- He gives good effort most every play. You’ll see him moving towards/chasing plays that went away from him and sometimes it pays off/he catches ballcarriers with his big reach when they cutback towards his way. 

 -- Because of his size and movement ability, you have to give extra juice to his NFL Draft grades as a potential offensive tackle conversion. Came in as, was an OL in 2015 but moved to DT in 2016 and then DT/DE in 2018-2019.

Calvin Taylor, Through the Lens of Our DT Scouting Algorithm:

 -- 2.0 sacks from 2015-2018, in 21 career games…but then 8.5 sacks in 2019, 2nd-most in the SEC. That’s a pretty hefty total for a 300+ pound D-Line worker (mostly DT). That’s upper-end production among DTs. 

 -- Of the top DT prospects, who weigh 300+ pounds, Taylor had the most sacks among them in 2019.

 -- #3 in the SEC in forced fumbles (3).

2020 Pre-Draft Measurables

The Historical DT Prospects to Whom Calvin Taylor Most Compares Within Our System:

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*A score of 8.00+ is where we see a stronger correlation of DTs going on to become NFL good/great/elite. A score of 10.00+ is more rarefied air in our system, and indicates a greater probability of becoming an NFL elite DT.

All of the DT ratings are based on a 0–10 scale, but a player can score negative, or above a 10.0 in certain instances.

Power-Strength Metrics = A combination of several measurements. An attempt to classify the DT prospect as more of a battle-in-the-trenches type of DT, and/or a DT prospect who has nose tackle capabilities.

Speed-Agility Metrics = A combination of several speed, agility, size measurements. A unique measuring system to look for DTs who profile for quickness, and/or a DT prospect who might have some DE capabilities.

Pass-Rusher Rating = A combination of physical measurables, and college performance, graded historically for future NFL profiling. In the simplest of terms, this is an attempt to classify whether a particular DT is likely to achieve high sack totals in the NFL. We know the ‘system’/scheme the DT goes on to play in has a part in future success...but so do the player’s skills and performance history.

Tackling Rating = A combination of physical measurables, and college performance, graded historically for future NFL profiling. In the simplest of terms, this is an attempt to classify the DT as one more likely to be involved in a heavy amount of tackles, tackles for a loss, and forced fumbles. Lower scoring DTs in this sub-category tend to be more pure ‘pluggers’, and not as active on the stat sheet. It also gives some insight of the ‘toughness’ of a player, if it is possible to quantify that (this is our attempt to).

NT Profile = This is an attempt to show which of these DT prospects has a profile to become a pure nose tackle/‘space-eater’ in the middle. It is not a 1–10 scale rating of a prospect’s skill/profile, it’s an attempt to point us in a direction of what this DT can be useful as (or not). Some DT prospects will grade off the charts on the NT profile, essentially a worst-case scenario of “put him in the middle and just let him be a wall.” There is NFL value in that ‘ability’.

2020 NFL Draft Outlook:

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NFL Outlook:   

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4/2/2020