Phil Taylor, NT, Baylor.
Playing the role of general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs is 'The Blood Of Eli.' Here is his rationale for the selection of Taylor.
I chose Phil Taylor, nose tackle from Baylor, for the Chiefs at number 21. In order to have a great 3-4 defense, you need to have a great front three. The Chiefs are two-thirds of the way there with Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey. There are no other guys in this group that can step in and be the anchor that the Chiefs desperately need at the nose tackle position. I do not believe that Shaun Smith, Ron Edwards, or any other defensive lineman on their roster not named Tyson or Glenn, have what it takes to play at the level the Chiefs are looking for.
Phil Taylor is a true nose tackle, and one of the best defensive line prospects in a draft full of defensive lineman. The fact that Taylor is already a pure nose tackle means he would not need to learn that much different of a scheme or skill set. He definitely has the size to fill those gaps and take on multiple blockers. This behemoth of a man comes in at just under 6-foot-4 and weighs slightly less than 340 pounds. To relate this to the Giants, just for fun of course, Taylor's size fills the credentials for what the late Giants general manager would have called the "Planet Theory." Taylor uses his size to his advantage, relying on brute force to move people out of the way, or occupy multiple offensive bodies. He has the ability to bull rush like the best of them, and stuff run plays up the middle quite frequently. He also displays exceptional skill in shooting the gaps when they open up. In a nutshell, the guy can just cause mayhem in the middle.
This is EXACTLY what the Chiefs need on defense. A brick house in the middle of the defense would allow their playmakers to fill gaps and make tackles. He would also allow guys like Tamba Hali to rush the passer with more freedom on passing downs. If the Chiefs do not get their guy now, who knows when they will get the opportunity to do it again? They need to find someone to solidify themselves in that position for years to come, AND NOT ALLOW THE JETS TO GET THIS GUY.
Lastly, I will touch on his off field issues. He transferred from Penn State after an off field assault charge that was later dropped. Joe Paterno just was not having that. However, after a subpar junior season where he gained lots of weight and just did not seem to possess the motivation, he took a trip to Kenya with teammates. He saw the struggles that children and people in general face growing up in less fortunate nations than the United States. He apparently came back a new person and changed his ways. This life-changing experience led him to an excellent senior season, which he more recently finished up with an excellent showing at the senior game. Taylor has not been in trouble since the Penn State incident and has managed to stay in shape since the Kenya trip.
My take: This is an excellent 'need' pick for the Chiefs. There might be higher-rated players left on the board, but the Chiefs are in dire need of a nose tackle to anchor their 3-4, and Taylor is the best one available.
-- 'dannymac56' is on the clock for Indianapolis.
Round 1
Pos | Team | Player | Pos | School | Drafter |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Carolina |
Cam Newton |
QB |
Auburn |
Tito |
2 | Denver | Nick Fairley |
DT |
Auburn |
Mike Fiammetta |
3 | Buffalo | Patrick Peterson |
CB |
LSU |
Bigbluethruandthru |
4 | Cincinnati | Blaine Gabbert |
QB |
Missouri |
BitterEli |
5 | Arizona | Von Miller |
OLB |
Texas A&M |
gmen2thebowl |
6 | Cleveland | Marcell Dareus |
DL |
Alabama |
Bobely |
7 | San Francisco |
A.J. Green |
WR |
Georgia |
Pat19 |
8 | Tennessee | Da'Quan Bowers | DE |
Clemson |
RealLT |
9 | Dallas |
Prince Amukamara |
CB |
Nebraska |
Simms-McConkey |
10 | Washington | Julio Jones |
WR |
Alabama |
jcalafiore |
11 | Houston |
Robert Quinn |
DE/OLB |
North Carolina |
daddyzander |
12 | Minnesota | Tyron Smith |
OT |
USC |
RolloT |
13 | Detroit | Anthony Castonzo |
OT |
Boston College |
Ed Valentine |
14 | St. Louis |
Aldon Smith |
DE |
Missouri |
GiantNomad |
15 | Miami |
Mark Ingram |
RB |
Alabama |
HenneGivenSunday |
16 | Jacksonville | Cameron Jordan |
DE |
California |
ct17 |
17 | New England |
Mike Pouncey |
OG/C |
Florida |
Ryan Valentine |
18 | San Diego |
J.J. Watt |
DE |
Wisconsin |
Anthony P |
19 | N.Y. Giants | Akeem Ayers |
OLB |
UCLA |
Ed Valentine |
20 | Tampa Bay |
Jimmy Smith |
CB |
Tampa Bay |
willgfass |
21 |
Kansas City |
Phil Taylor |
DT |
Baylor |
The Blood Of Eli |
22 | Indianapolis | dannymac56 |
|||
23 | Philadelphia | JimmyK |
|||
24 | New Orleans |
Charles L. |
|||
25 | Seattle | Ejaay |
|||
26 | Baltimore | LarrySoprano |
|||
27 | Atlanta | pataroons |
|||
28 | New England |
Ryan Valentine? |
|||
29 | Chicago | You're my boy, Blue | |||
30 |
New York Jets |
PlaxicoBurress |
|||
31 | Pittsburgh | stephen_ross |
|||
32 | Green Bay |
NYG28 |
Round 2
Pos | Team | Player | Pos | School | Drafter |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
33 | New England |
Ryan Valentine? | |||
34 | Buffalo | Bigbluethruandthru | |||
35 | Cincinnati | BitterEli | |||
36 | Denver |
Mike Fiammetta |
|||
37 | Cleveland | Bobely | |||
38 | Arizona |
gmen2thebowl | |||
39 | Tennessee | RealLT | |||
40 | Dallas | Simms-McConkey | |||
41 | Washington | jcalafiore | |||
42 | Houston | daddyzander | |||
43 | Minnesota | RolloT | |||
44 | Detroit | BigBlueIntervention | |||
45 | San Francisco |
Pat19 |
|||
46 | Denver |
Mike Fiammetta | |||
47 | St. Louis |
GiantNomad | |||
48 | Oakland | G Fan In England |
|||
49 | Jacksonville |
ct17 | |||
50 | San Diego |
Anthony P | |||
51 | Tampa Bay |
willgfass |
|||
52 | N.Y. Giants | Ed Valentine | |||
53 |
Indianapolis |
dannymac56 | |||
54 | Philadelphia | JImmyK |
|||
55 | Kansas City |
The Blood Of Eli | |||
56 | New Orleans |
Charles L. |
|||
57 | Seattle | Ejaay | |||
58 | Baltimore | LarrySoprano |
|||
59 | Atlanta | pataroons | |||
60 | New England |
Ryan Valentine? |
|||
61 | San Diego |
Anthony P | |||
62 |
Chicago |
You're my boy, Blue | |||
63 | Pittsburgh | stephen_ross |
|||
64 | Green Bay |
NYG28 |