A lot goes into whether a college football player finds success in the National Football League. Skill, size, speed, technique and experience all play a role in their transition to the new level of football, but an often-overlooked factor is their fit with the team that drafts them.
This fit is based on many things. The skill level of the players around them, the culture of the organization, and the coaching/planned role for the player in his rookie year with the team.
Two clear examples of the squad that drafted a player playing a massive role in whether they found success, the examples each showing the opposite ends of the spectrum, are seen in the early careers of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Miami Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen.
Nobody will deny that Mahomes is by far the better talent and better player. What is overlooked, however, is how different the early career situations affected each quarterback as they transitioned to the NFL.
Mahomes was drafted by the Chiefs–an extremely well-run organization with a great coach and a great roster–and was given a year to sit behind the current quarterback, veteran Alex Smith, in order to learn about what it takes to succeed in the league. He then was well prepared to take over the team in his second year and the rest is history.
Rosen, on the other hand, was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals–an organization without a history of success, with a first year head coach in Steve Wilks and a bad roster–and was thrust into the starting role in week four. The UCLA product struggled mightily throughout his rookie year due in large part to an abysmal offensive line and below average weapons on the outside. Then, that offseason Rosen was traded to the Dolphins, a similarly tough situation for a young quarterback to succeed, and he hasn’t found footing since.
While not nearly the only reason for each players’ early career success or lack thereof, the team that drafted the two and the situation they put the young quarterbacks in had an undoubted effect on the level of success they experienced early in their careers.
So, with all this said, I looked through countless mock drafts and saw where former Badger running back Jonathan Taylor was being projected to land. One of the constant teams I saw was the Buffalo Bills.
So I thought about, if I was Taylor, whether or not I would be attracted to the fit presented by the Bills based on their culture, coach, offensive line and overall track record of success.
Here’s NFL Draft Tinder: Jonathan Taylor edition, volume one.
The Buffalo Bills
Swipe up (super like).
While the Bills aren’t the first organization that comes to mind when you think of the elite organizations in the NFL, Head Coach Sean McDermott has built an impressive culture there over the last few years and has his team in great position to take over the AFC East with Tom Brady now in Tampa Bay.
The team’s run scheme–a cold weather, north-south attack–would fit Taylor’s skill set perfectly and help to counteract the team having the league’s 21st rated offensive line in 2019 according to ProFootballFocus. Furthermore, a key element in someone like Taylor finding NFL success is the presence of another back on the roster, preferably a change-of-pace back, to take pressure off of him and help to manage his workload. The Bills have exactly that in Devin Singletary, a guy who carried the ball 151 times for 775 yards and caught 29 balls for 194 yards in only 12 games last season as a rookie. The fit of the offense is then wrapped up by the Bills’ impressive young quarterback Josh Allen, a guy who is improving each year and isn’t afraid to use his legs to move the ball. In total, adding Taylor to this team would make them a force to be reckoned with on the ground.
So, the current culture of the organization together with trajectory of the team, their talented young quarterback, their coach and the presence of a change-of-pace back in Devin Singletary outweigh the team having a slightly below average offensive line and represent a great situation for Taylor to find himself in.
Stay tuned for Taylor’s fit with the Miami Dolphins tomorrow and more to follow.