IDP Spotlight: DE Jason Taylor, Washington Redskins

  Posted 8/8 by Jene Bramel, Exclusive to Footballguys.com

Just one month ago, Taylor's NFL and IDP situations were decidedly undecided. Publicly, the Miami Dolphins and Taylor were preparing to start training camp together. Privately, both were actively looking for a trading partner and had been since April. In late July, both finally got their wish after Miami dealt Taylor to Washington after the Redskins lost starting end Philip Daniels early in camp. IDP owners breathed a big sigh of relief - Taylor would no longer be banished to the fantasy purgatory reserved for 3-4 OLBs and would keep his DL positional designation.

Taylor has been among the most consistent defensive ends in IDP leagues for years. Over the past six seasons, Taylor has missed only two games and averaged 45 solo tackles and over 12 sacks per 16 games. He has been productive against the run and effective from a two point stance. He has been productive on good teams and bad teams. In short, there's little that Taylor hasn't done to prove himself one of the safest IDP options available.

In Washington, Taylor is expected to play left end primarily but was listed as a DE/LB in the Redskins' media guide and may be moved around the formation on passing downs and again used in a two point stance. He'll also benefit from having a solid pass rusher in Andre Carter opposite him. That combination should assure Taylor plenty of opportunity to continue his long streak of DL1 finishes.

Taylor's age and on-field focus, given his successful reality television debut this spring, have been questioned this offseason. However, the team is rumored to have secured a promise of two seasons of NFL play from Taylor before acquiring him. That may or may not be a promise on which dynasty owners can depend, but it should be enough to quell any concerns for this season.

Positives

• Consistent, durable, every-down defensive end
• Likely to be moved around the formation to exploit mismatches
• Surrounding cast is solid and should keep teams from focusing entirely on Taylor

Negatives

• Taylor may not be fully focused on football after spending his offseason dancing
• Will be 34 when the season begins; age may catch up with him quickly
  

Final Thoughts

Prospective IDP owners who were nervous that Taylor would stay in Miami, end up as a full time OLB and see his value disappear when his positional designation was changed should rejoice. In Washington, Taylor will remain listed as a DL, but have the benefit of a better surrounding cast and may still get some linebacker snaps to boost his numbers. Age and off-field concerns shouldn't hinder his return to the top ten overall DL in 2008.

Quotes from the IDP Spotlight Message Thread

To view the entire thread, click here.

Jayrod:
"Wow, is this a tough situation to analyze. You've got an all-world defensive end at the age of 34 playing in his 12th season, but his first with any team other than Miami. He spent an offseason dancing on TV & with the new regime in Miami. Rumors were that he would be done after this season to pursue other career alternatives and Miami (namely Parcells) was not happy with his attitude. So he finally lands in Washington and Miami gets some coveted draft picks for a guy they weren't happy with anyway.

Washington went after Taylor not even 24 hours after losing two DE to season ending injuries. They suddenly had a gaping hole and he was the best stopgap available. He will start every game and play every defensive down if healthy opposite another well above average DE in Andre Carter.

So what does this all mean? Will Taylor put up similar stats in a new system on a new team? Will he be motivated if the team starts to fade down the stretch? I think we see a great DE start to decline a little and land at the bottom end of the top 10 D-linemen for 2008 (lower than he's finished this century). Solid DL1 with even a little upside."

Rozelle:
"When the Skins lost starting LDE Phillip Daniels and backup DE Alex Buzbee on the first day of training camp, it didn't take long for Snyder to put a deal together to bring Jason Taylor in. One thing we know for sure … he's going to be a DE now. However, Taylor may be lining up at LDE instead of his familiar RDE … Taylor's take "While it will be different than what I have done for the majority of my career, I have done plenty of it, and had success. I will have to adjust my game, and we will find a way to do it, but it will take some work."

I think Taylor will still be good, not quite as good number wise as we've seen in the past though. If he lines up on the left side, I expect his tackle numbers to be solid and his sacks down."

Tatum Bell:
"He's not going to play every down - they have the solid if unspectacular Demetric Evans to rotate with him and keep him fresh, and they're also going to move him around a little, though certainly not as much as Miami did with him in that 3-4 scheme. He and Carter will be a formidable tandem in pass rush situations."

Projections

IDP Scoring System

• 1.5 pts per Solo Tackle
• 0.75 pts per Assisted Tackle
• 4 pts per Sack
• 4 pts per Forced Fumble
• 4 pts per Fumble Recovery
• 5 pts per Interception
• 1.5 pts per Pass Defensed
• 6 pts per Touchdown
• 2 pts per Safety