Chiefs Player Focus: Jawaan Taylor

Laddie Morse

Jawaan Taylor will play Right Tackle this year for the Kansas City Chiefs. He will be a clear cut upgrade over Andrew Wylie, who moved on this past offseason to the Washington Commanders where Eric Bieniemy is now the Offensive Coordinator. What many may not know about Taylor is that he was taken with the 35th overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. What many may also not know is that… LT Donovan Smith was taken with the 34th overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft.

It just means, for those wishing the Chiefs would invest high round picks in their Offensive Line… their wishes have come true. So far the starters look like this:

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When Jawaan Taylor signed with the Chiefs this past spring, he was told he could play on the right side or the left side and he appeared to be good with either position. David Bell believes Wanya Morris will serve as the swing tackle, meaning, if either Taylor or Donovan Smith needs a breather (for whatever reason) then Morris would step in. That is precisely the reason Morris is being tried out on both sides during training camp. It may also have to do with Morris possibly becoming the Chiefs permanent LT… on down the road.

Taylor has played his first four seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars (from 2019 to 2022) as a starter and although he hasn’t won any awards for his play, the “Pro Football Writers of America NFL All-Rookie Team” named him to their “All-rookie” team for his first season in the NFL in 2019. Taylor played on 100% of the available offensive snaps in his first three season and then played 98% of the offensive snaps in 2022. In other words, he’s been –> extremely reliable.

Taylor was happy when the Chiefs signed Donovan basically because they had the same Offensive Line coach in George Warhop. Warhop was with the Bucs from 2015-to-2018 (where he first taught Donovan Smith) and then he was at Jacksonville from 2019-to-2021 (where he taught Taylor). In an article written by Jared Sapp for ArrowheadPride on Jawaan Taylor, he quotes Taylor as saying:

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“I’m just here to help the team win — wherever the team needs me. I told Coach Reid, ‘If you need me on the left, I’ll play the left. If they need me on the right, I’ll play the right.’ I feel like I’m athletic enough to do either one. So wherever the team needs me, I’m there.”

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Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said of Taylor when he was coming out of college:

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“Throwback right tackle with adequate foot quickness for pass-protection duties and above-average size and nastiness to fit the “road grader” model. Taylor strains to cave, kick or drive his opponent out of the way. His feet are good enough to slide out on speed rushers and redirect them past the pocket….”

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WalterFootball said of Taylor when he was getting ready for the draft:

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“Taylor has a lot of unique qualities as a pass blocker. Despite being such a large offensive lineman, he is a really good athlete who has speed and shows the ability to bend at the knee. He has quick feet that he uses to mirror speed rushers, and his strength and length allow him to sustain blocks well to keep edge defenders from turning the corner. With his weight and strength, Taylor is able to anchor and hold up against bull rushes.”

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I expect more out of Jawaan Taylor than I do Donovan Smith. That may have something to do with the deal each signed with the Chiefs. Taylor signed a four year deal with the Chiefs worth $80M and Donovan Smith signed a one-year deal worth $3M. So, if my expectations are off base… please let me know.

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Here’s Taylor talking about Training Camp Practice (0:08):

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Here LG Joe Thuney talking about Jawaan Taylor and Donovan Smith (0:16):

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Finally, here Jawaan Taylor talking in a post Training Camp presser about playing next to Trey Smith (0:13):

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Jawaan Taylor gave up 5 sacks in 2022 while Andrew Wylie gave up 9 sacks. The Chiefs should be better off all the way aorund on the offensive line now that Jawaan Taylor is Patrick Mahomes right side protector.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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