Adrian Taylor Scouting Report

For nearly three years, Adrian Taylor has been an unheralded clog in the middle of the Oklahoma defense. After redshirting in 2006, Taylor did not make much of an impact as a freshman, but he did get noticeably better as the season progressed. He ended his freshman campaign with ten tackles, a tackle-for-loss and a sack. He even picked off a pass and broke up three others. The 2008 and 2009 seasons went pretty much as planned. Taylor increased his tackle totals and was more effective getting into the backfield. Even when Taylor could not make a play, he would often push the line back and break down the pocket.

Things started going bad at the end of the 2009 season. In the Sun Bowl against Stanford, Taylor dislocated his ankle early in the contest. Fighting back from that gruesome injury was admirable. He started off a little slow, but Taylor was starting to come back into his old form when another injury hit. Taylor tore his Achilles' tendon in his right leg against Texas Tech in early November.

Taylor's stock has dropped fast because of his injuries. It remains to be seen if he can come back from the latest injury and if he can stay healthy even if he does. That puts Taylor in a tough position. He has the talent to play in the NFL, but at best he will be drafted late by a team that is willing to take a chance on a sleeper defensive tackle who will need some time to regain his strength.

2/10 Update: As expected, Taylor never returned from his torn ACL and his draft stock continues to fall. Unable to perform in pre-draft workouts, Taylor looks like he will go undrafted come April. However, he still has some time to try and impress NFL teams with his leadership, but that will not be enough to get drafted. Taylor has to show that he is on his way to recovery if he hopes to hear his name called.