Tag: Jawaan Taylor

Aidan Hutchinson film review from the Lions win over the Kansas City Chiefs

Hutchinson had a great game in Week 1 and Lions Wire’s Russell Brown breaks down the game tape

When the Detroit Lions held the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, there was very little belief that the Lions were going to draft Aidan Hutchinson. Many thought he should have been the first overall pick. Meanwhile, as went into the opening night of the draft, there was a lot of speculation that Kayvon Thibodeaux was going to be the Lions selection.

That all changed when the Lions were chomping at the bit to get a player that felt would be an immediate impact player for their defense. When you watch Hutchinson at Michigan or throughout his 18-game career, all signs point to him being a Dan Campbell type of player. He fit exactly what the Lions were looking for in a defender and overall player.

While Hutchinson had a terrific rookie season with three interceptions and 9.5 sacks, there are many analysts who believe he will take a massive step forward in 2023. In the Detroit Lions win over the Kansas City Chiefs to start the 2023 season, it felt like he did just that.

Even though he didn’t load the stat sheet with tackles for loss, sacks or interceptions, he ensured that his presence would be felt whenever Patrick Mahomes dropped back to pass. Against the Chiefs on Thursday night, Hutchinson had four total tackles, three quarterback hits and four hurries. In total, he had 7 quarterback pressures. Let’s jump into the tape and look at some of the top pass-rushes from Hutchinson in the Lions win over the Chiefs!

Starting with the play above, the Lions defense shows 8 players in the box for the Chiefs condensed set out of 11 personnel (one tight end and one running back). For Hutchinson, he’s aligned in a 4-technique while being head up on the right tackle. Once the ball is snapped, Hutchinson attacks the outside shoulder of the right guard and then quickly swipes the arms of the guard while trying to rip through.

While Hutchinson continues to drive his feet to the quarterback, the guard has no choice but let Mahomes get sacked or get called for holding. Obviously, holding gets called and it forces the Chiefs offense to move back 10 yards.

Moving onto the next play, we’ll see Hutchinson aligned as a 7-technique. Using nothing but pure speed, he’s able to get deep into the backfield and it forces Patrick Mahomes to throw off his back foot. With how Hutchinson sets the edge with his size and speed, Mahomes has to make a decision quickly and isn’t able to roll out and extend plays like he normally does. All of this forces an incompletion.

Finishing up with the last play, we’ll see Hutchinson aligned as a 5-technique off the right tackle. While the Chiefs run a variation of split-zone off play-action, the tight end (Chiefs TE 83) is forced to try and get down the line and block Hutchinson. While that’s a tough task, he does slow Hutch down enough to not get the sack. However, Hutchinson does a great job hitting the tight end with a push-pull and rip move to force Mahomes back into the pocket to quickly get rid of the ball.

All together, the Lions have seen nothing but great things from their former second overall pick. There’s potential for Hutchinson to find himself in the elite category of edge rushers this season. With strong performances like the one he had against the Chiefs, Hutchinson should easily find himself in that category. Most importantly, the Lions should find themselves with a much improved defense for this season and the future.

Jawaan Taylor’s Chiefs debut generated a lot of Twitter controversy

Viewers were clamoring for Jawaan Taylor to get called for penalties last night. It’s nothing Jaguars fans haven’t seen, though.

Jawaan Taylor made his regular season debut with the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night and there was no shortage of viewers who felt the offensive tackle deserved a penalty on just about every play. Taylor getting away with several plays that looked like false starts didn’t come as a surprise to Jacksonville Jaguars fans, though.

For years, while Taylor was the Jaguars’ starting right tackle, his quick jump off the line of scrimmage frustrated Jacksonville opponents. It caused the Los Angeles Chargers’ Joey Bosa to have a full-blown meltdown in January.

With Taylor playing Thursday in the NFL’s Kickoff Game, protecting two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes on a Super Bowl-winning team, his play generated quite a lot of attention.

Here’s a sampling of the reactions to Taylor’s performance in Week 1:

Taylor was called for seven penalties (three false start, two holding, two ineligible downfield) during the 2022 season, his last with the Jaguars. Earlier this year, he signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Chiefs and Jacksonville replaced him at right tackle with No. 27 overall pick Anton Harrison.

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Biggest key matchup for the Lions vs. the Chiefs

Biggest key matchup for the Lions vs. the Chiefs in the NFL Week 1

Tonight the NFL season officially kicks off with the Detroit Lions versus the Kansas City Chiefs. With the Chiefs set to defend their crown as Super Bowl champions, the Lions look to play spoiler and show the world they’re the real deal. That’s the expectation for the Detroit Lions as we head into this season opener.

Win the division and make the playoffs or bust.

Some would even say that the Lions have to not only win their division for the first time since 1993 but they’ve also got to win a playoff game. The expectations are at an all-time high and it’s a weird feeling for fans like myself.

Needless to say, it’s exciting and all signs are pointing to the Lions being a better football team than they were in the past. They’ve just got to execute and all of this should come to fruition.

For their first game of the season against the Chiefs, all eyes will be on the health of tight end Travis Kelce. About as productive and consistent as you can be for a tight end in the NFL, Kelce has proven that he’s the best player at his position. Over the last seven seasons, he’s posted over 1,000 yards receiving and has over 100+ receptions in three of those seasons.

But the attention won’t be on the production we get from Kelce in this game. In fact, it’s all surrounding around his health. He’s currently battling a bad bone bruise on his knee and it’s forced swelling around his knee. This has put his status in serious doubt for the game.

It remains to be seen if Kelce will play or not tonight. If he does, I’d expect plenty of situations where the Lions lock defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on him. If not him, I’d expect the Lions to bring rookie Brian Branch into the box and have him matchup against Kelce.

However, there’s a much bigger matchup that needs more attention. That matchup is how Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson does against the Kansas City Chiefs new offensive tackles. For the Chiefs, they have new left tackle Donovan Smith and new right tackle Jawaan Taylor.

While Smith and Taylor are more than feasible, they’re much different players than the previous tackles Orlando Brown and Andrew Wylie. We’ll see how it goes for both Smith and Taylor but it’s always interesting how a player does in a new scheme with new players around them.

Last season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Donovan Smith finished with a PFF Grade of 58.1 while giving up a total of 6 sacks. His 12 penalties were tied for 4th most in the NFL last season. As for his new teammate, Jawaan Taylor, he had given up 5 sacks last season. This earned him a PFF Grade of 58.7 overall.

So while Smith and Taylor aren’t great, they’re not terrible either. They’re feasible. But the Lions have Aidan Hutchinson and he could needs to start his sophomore season in the NFL the same way he ended his rookie season.

That would be red hot.

Last season, Hutch had four tackles, 0.5 sacks and an interception in a 41-10 victory in week 17 over the Chicago Bears. This set up the Lions game of the year with an end of the season tilt in week 18 against the Green Bay Packers.

With their backs against the wall in Lambeau Field, the Lions emerged victorious with a 20-16 win over Green Bay. In the win, Hutch ended up with four tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks.

It was a statement win for Detroit. Meanwhile, it was a statement made by Hutchinson. He ended his rookie season on a high note and helped his team get a much needed win on the road in Green Bay. With that, he showed that when he loads the stat sheet and gets after the quarterback, the Lions end up winning the game.

In seven games last season, Hutchinson recorded a sack or a half sack and in six of those games, the Lions ended up winning the game. The only game they lost was when they fell 24-6 to the Dallas Cowboys. Other than that, the Lions came out victorious.

While it’ll be tough to bring Patrick Mahomes down, anything is possible. For Mahomes, he’s been sacked a total of 121 times in his 80 game career. The most he’s been sacked in one game in his career was five times in 2018 against the Arizona Cardinals. It’ll be tough to bring him down five times tonight but if they can find ways to pressure him or keep him contained in the pocket, the Lions defense could do enough to hold on for a victory.

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Helping with that pressure and containment on the planet’s best quarterback is Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Keep tabs on what he does on every snap. From where he’s aligned to how he wins during his pass-rush. His presence could be felt from the very first play of the game. Hutch was viewed as the best draft prospect on a plethora of draft boards during the 2022 NFL Draft. Tonight he gets to prove that last season was no fluke and that everyone was right with their assessment on the talented defensive end.

15 Chiefs with the most to prove in 2023

These 15 #Chiefs have the most to prove in 2023 as Kansas City endeavors to win its second-straight Super Bowl title.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl aspirations hinge on the arm of quarterback Patrick Mahomes more than any other factor. Mahomes’ dominance in recent years has been nothing short of a miracle for Kansas City, and the team has two championship rings to show for his efforts.

But for the reigning MVP, there isn’t much left to prove. He has already shown an acumen for winning big games, secured himself one of the biggest contracts in pro sports, and is an icon who is seen on television daily.

Mahomes’ teammates now bear the burden of keeping his legacy and, by extension, the team’s reign as NFL champions, afloat. After a successful training camp and preseason, some of the quarterback’s cohorts have more to prove than others, especially after roster cuts left many of Kansas City’s most promising prospects without a place on the team’s payroll.

Check out our top 15 Chiefs with something to prove ahead of the 2023 season kickoff on August 7:

Chiefs OT Jawaan Taylor praises QB Patrick Mahomes’ leadership

#Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor praised quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ leadership after Saturday’s practice. | from: @EdEastonJr

The protection of reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes remains a priority for the Kansas City Chiefs as they seek improvement on their offensive line each season. The departure of left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency may have seemed like a reason for fans to panic, but general manager Brett Veach viewed it as an opportunity to adjust both starting tackle positions in the offseason.

The Chiefs added Jawaan Taylor from the Jacksonville Jaguars to help solidify the right side of their offensive line. Taylor spoke to reporters after practice on Saturday about adjusting to Andy Reid’s system and his respect for Mahomes after nearly a week of workouts in St. Joseph.

“[He is] just [a] great leader, man, he brings that energy every day and, you know, he holds everybody accountable.” said Taylor, “If you mess up, we’re gonna redo it, you know, and even in walkthroughs and learning periods, we slow it down, and we get to learn the offense. So that’s helped me a lot with the walkthroughs and, you know, learning the things I like doing here.”

Taylor played his first four seasons with the Jaguars, emerging as one of the better right tackles in the NFL. Kansas City also added Donovan Smith in the offseason to play on the left side of the line, so Taylor only needs to make minor changes to his game in his first year with the Chiefs.

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Ranking the AFC West by offensive tackle duos

Who has the best offensive tackle duo in the AFC West? Here’s now they stack up.

Protection. It can mean a lot in today’s game where quarterbacks are increasingly asked to stand in the pocket and scan the field while the receivers routes develop.

Some quarterbacks can get away with less than ideal protection if they are elusive. But even the best are at their best when they don’t have to improvise or deliver the ball before their preferred target breaks open.

And, remember, tackles must be able to run block as well. That means leading their man outside on an inside run, sealing the edge for and outside run, or getting to the second level on pitches and screens.

Let’s take a look at who is best set up for success at the tackle spots.

Chiefs’ offensive tackle situation might not be set in stone

Andy Reid revealed last week that things might not be so cut and dry with the #Chiefs’ offensive tackle situation.

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When the Kansas City Chiefs signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers LT Donovan Smith, it cast doubt over everything fans had been told about the plan at offensive tackle this offseason.

Ever since the team signed former Jacksonville Jaguars RT Jawaan Taylor at the onset of free agency, they’d been peddling the plan to move Taylor to the left side. That plan seemingly changed after the draft when the team added Smith, with Andy Reid saying it’d allow the Chiefs to leave Taylor at right tackle.

With a week of OTAs in the books, we’re learning now that few things are set in stone at the offensive tackle position. Not only did Reid confirm that Taylor had a “few practices” playing left tackle, but he also confirmed that Lucas Niang is in the mix at the right tackle position.

“Yeah, so for the few practices that he (Jawaan Taylor) was at left tackle (and) then (Lucas) Niang worked in at the right tackle, I feel good about (Niang) too, so we’re in a good place,” Reid said. “I believe (Taylor) can do both so I don’t think that’s a problem and he got a few snaps at that. But listen, we’ve got two veteran guys (Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor) that have a lot of snaps under their belt at a high level so we feel comfortable with that so we’ll see. We expect the guys behind them to compete and we should be fine there.”

Having confidence in your depth certainly isn’t a bad thing as Chiefs fans learned in the Super Bowl LV debacle. OTAs serve as a good opportunity to experiment and find out what your players might be capable of once the pads come on at training camp. No matter what, the mixed signals sent by the team confirm that they’re still figuring out which combination of starting offensive tackles will give them the best opportunity to win games come the 2023 NFL season.

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PFF names Chiefs’ Jawaan Taylor one of NFL’s 32 best offensive tackles

#Chiefs OT Jawaan Taylor was recognized by PFF as one of the league’s best in their 2023 offensive tackle rankings:

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The Kansas City Chiefs made an attempt to upgrade their offensive tackle positions this offseason, moving on from veterans Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie.

They signed both Jawaan Taylor and Donovan Smith in free agency, securing new bookends to protect star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. One of those players has been named to PFF’s 2023 offensive tackle rankings, which list the 32 best players at the position (not including rookies) heading into the 2023 NFL season.

Taylor came in at No. 24 and here’s what PFF’s Gordon McGuinness had to say about him:

Taylor’s grading profile is one of the most interesting at the position. He earned a 75.9 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2022 that tied for 30th and a 39.7 PFF run-blocking grade that was the worst among starting offensive tackles.

Now, the Chiefs believe they managed to get an upgrade in Taylor, but did they really? PFF doesn’t seem to agree as Taylor ranked lower on this list than Brown Jr., who came in at No. 14 as one of the NFL’s “high-floor” players. It’s rich that mention his overall grade over the last five seasons, but they don’t happen to mention that Brown Jr. finished the 2022 NFL season with the most pressures in the league at 58. Wylie had the second-most at 54. Taylor came in at 40th with just 21 pressures allowed all season.

Taylor is also considered the fifth-best offensive tackle in the AFC West, with Kolton Miller (8), Rashawn Slater (9), Mike McGlinchey (21) and Garrett Bolles (23) all coming in ahead of him.

It’s fairly clear that heading into the 2023 NFL season, Taylor has some doubters to prove wrong.

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Jaguars OT Walker Little: ‘I just want an opportunity to play’

Left tackle or right tackle makes no difference to Walker Little. He just wants a chance to prove himself as a full-time starter.

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Walker Little has been waiting for his chance at a full-time starting role. After two years backing up Cam Robinson and Jawaan Taylor, the path is finally clear for Little after Taylor signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in March.

“We haven’t really talked at all about where guys are starting, where we’re going to be placed,” Little told 1010XL on Tuesday. “I just want an opportunity to play. That’s what any player wants on the team. I’ll get a chance in training camp and hopefully I can play well, prove myself, and earn a starting spot.”

It’d be a surprise if Little wasn’t a starter for the team in 2023 after the former second-round pick made three starts in each of his first two NFL seasons as well as two starts in the playoffs this January.

Little, 24, was credited with allowing two sacks and 13 hurries across 369 offensive snaps in the regular season and postseason in 2022. Most of his snaps came at left tackle after he took over the role when Robinson suffered a season-ending knee injury.

With Robinson presumably taking back the left tackle spot, Little is likely to fill Taylor’s shoes at right tackle. Despite playing left tackle in high school and college, that’s a position flip that he’s not concerned about.

“I feel like I’ve got so many reps, especially in the past two years, at both that I feel comfortable playing both sides at this point,” Little said. “I’ve worked really hard to make both feel natural for me and I think I’ve finally gotten to that point where playing right, playing left feels virtually the same.”

Earlier in April, the Jaguars added offensive tackle depth by signing Josh Wells in free agency.

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Chiefs GM Brett Veach evaluates right tackle situation ahead of 2023 NFL draft

#Chiefs GM Brett Veach shared his thoughts on the team’s right tackle situation and who could take the next step in their development. | from @EdEastonJr

The offensive line has been a project that’s seen tremendous growth over the past two seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs. General Manager Brett Veach made it a mission to surround Patrick Mahomes with quality protection and keep him healthy to ensure long-term success.

The Chiefs parted ways with both Andrew Wylie and Orlando Brown Jr. at the beginning of the offseason, opening a path for more playing time to some of their young linemen. With the addition of Jawaan Taylor in free agency, the biggest question mark remains the right tackle position. A player that has potential is third-year OT Lucas Niang. He hasn’t seen a lot of time on the field, in part due to opting out in 2020 and in part due to injury, but Veach continues to believe that he can be a contributor.

“We have a lot of hopes for Lucas (Niang),” said Veach. “And you know, he was the guy that actually won that starting right tackle position, then he got hurt. It’s been a little bit of an uphill battle. Um, he had a pretty bad injury there. But he has worked phenomenally to get in shape. And Rick (Burkholder) and his staff have done a great job of continuing to get him in the right positions to go out there and be productive.”

While Niang appears to be set for a more significant role, Veach also highlighted Prince Tega Wanogho and Darian Kinnard as players ready to take the next step in their development.

“Prince (Tega Wanogho) is a guy that has always kind of steadily grown every year has been here, and I think (Darian) Kinnard, you know, I’m excited for him,” said Veach. “And I think he’ll have a chance to play, play some tackle. We certainly think he has flex, and he may end up being ultimately a better guard. He’s played right tackle in the past, and he was the guy that, you know, struggled a little early on, but I think toward the end of training camp there, and throughout the season, you guys probably don’t get to see as much during the season, but he’s, I think grown rapidly over the last few months. I know Coach (Andy) Heck is really excited for where he is, so again, I think he’s a guy that has flexibility, so he’ll probably get reps at both guard and tackle there.

“But between those three guys and we have three solid guys that can go in there and compete and you know, I’m sure we’ll look to continue to add depth all across that offensive line.”

The Chiefs could add more offensive line help in the draft, but Veach is still looking for opportunities to get young talent who are already enriched in the culture more involved. The returning players with something to prove could lessen the urgency and need to pick an offensive tackle early in the 2023 NFL draft.

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