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Alontae Taylor NFL Draft Profile
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Alontae Taylor Scouting ReportAlontae is an outside cornerback who possesses good length. He is deployed in press, off man and a variation of zone coverages. He has above-average speed, allowing him to carry most wideouts vertically. He has the confidence in off is apparent as he stays square and does not get turned easily. Taylor thrives in press coverage, where he has a very powerful strike to disrupt and redirect receivers at the line of scrimmage. Despite landing his blow, he stays composed and on balance. He squeezes vertical routes to the sideline effectively. Alontae has excellent mental alertness, processing and high energy allow him to recognize plays and routes early and make plays on them. His length allows him to break up passes from behind. Taylor turns for the ball if he is in position to do so. He baits quarterbacks in zone coverage. Taylor gets in the face of receivers and feisty play in general shows that he has the mentality to succeed in the NFL. In the run game, his competitiveness and effort are outstanding, coming downhill aggressively and showing an appetite for physical tackling, stopping the momentum of ball carriers. |
Areas for ImprovementTaylor lacks the functional strength of a defensive back being a former wide receiver converted to the defensive side. He will have to get stronger. He will have to improve his run support ability as he tends to whiff on open field tackles. He looks to shoe string ballcarriers, which leads to many broken tackles.
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Alontae Taylor Career at TennesseeAlontae Taylor is one of the defensive leaders for the Vols on and off the field. He was a lockdown cornerback who played in 45 games with 31 starts. He began his career as a wide receiver before moving to corner during the fall of 2018. He was selected to the SEC Football Leadership Council in 2020 where he recently completed his second term as vice chair. He was voted to the post by his peers at the SEC meeting in February 2020 and was instrumental as a student voice in helping the SEC return to play during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor notched four interceptions, 19 passes defended and three forced fumbles. He collected 162 total tackles, including 115 of the solo variety. He has scored a pair of defensive touchdowns, the first a fumble recovery in the end zone at No. 21 Auburn (10/13/18) his freshman season, then again senior year with a pick-six at No. 18 Kentucky (11/6/21). He was a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
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Alontae Taylor NFL Draft Player ProfileHas some speed. Decently athletic. Stayed with top receivers for the most part in man coverage last year. Accelerates well. Lacks a lot of upper body strength. Doesn’t change direction well. Struggles to flip his hips and turn back up-field when he has to. Average recovery. Taylor wants to tackle but comes in too low. Does have very strong hit power. Not someone I’d be comfortable with playing in space. Pursuit angles, especially when working off a block, need to be better. Struggles at times to effectively get a good angle when working downhill. Alontae reacts well in man coverage, just want to see him play more aggressive. Does a good job staying in the hip pocket of the receiver. Not overly physical, but can get physical while attacking the catch point. Not particularly adept at zone coverage. Plays too deep in the zone and doesn’t get back into position fast enough when he needs to. Plays a much stronger zone coverage in the red zone when there isn’t all that space. Quick recognition and reaction. Strong jam technique. Too physical in press coverage.
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