After Ryan Tannehill, the second player we dig deeper into is another interesting quarterback.
Tyrod was born and grew up in Hampton, Virginia, where he started at quarterback for three years, but also played safety and returned kicks. He was clearly a very athletic player even back then, because you don’t find many quarterbacks returning kicks.
He attended Virginia Tech, and actually played some quarterback in his freshman year. Tyrod remained the starter during his next three season, however his stock didn’t really rise until 2010, his senior year. That season he threw 24 TDs with only 5 INTs, also ran for 5 TDs. His completion percentage in college was never great, and never close to 60%.
from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrod_Taylor
Believed to be more suitable to play wide receiver, most teams balked at drafting him in 2011. The Ravens chose him in round 6, and gave him an opportunity to win the backup to Joe Flacco. He did so with a couple of eye opening plays during that pre-season.
Taylor was basically the backup, with very little game experience in his first four years. Coincidentally, Rex Ryan was hired to be the head coach at Buffalo the same year Tyrod became a free agent. Rex had tried to persuade the Ravens to trade him to the Jets, mostly because he loved his wild cat style of running at any moment, yet have a strong arm to hurt you downfield.
His NFL career stats: from http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/24967/
Author words of wisdom
Tyrod Taylor is not an elite quarterback, he has had mixed results in his time in Buffalo, but he is also not the reason for their lack of wins. What surprises me the most about Tyrod’s professional development is his good completion percentage. His other numbers are very similar to his senior year in college.
This off season marks a moment of truth for the Bills and Tyrod. His biggest fan Rex, is no longer the head coach. There is a contract in place, the decision is to move forward and declare Tyrod the QB for years to come, or to simply start over. There is a new head coach, one that has seen a similar quarterback take his team to a SB.
Reading online, Bills fans are divided, some want him, some don’t. In my opinion, Tyrod should be kept, simply because the alternatives are limited, and not necessarily better. Many do have Watson going to the Bills at 10, but the draft is held after the Bills have to exercise the option on Taylor. I don’t agree with this decision, however I do believe the Bills will cut ties. If he was their guy, waiting until the last minute makes no sense. McDermott will want his own guy, and in their eyes Tyrod’s past will not dictate his salary.
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