Taylor Rapp was viewed as a potential first-round pick in the 2019 draft, but he wound up slipping all the way to the second round where the Rams scooped him up at No. 61 overall. This wasn’t the first time he’s been overlooked on his path to the NFL, though.
Being an Asian-American, Rapp says he’s been overlooked throughout his football career, from his younger days all the way through college, too. Despite only being a rookie, Rapp has taken on a leadership role with the Rams as he tries to inspire other Asian-Americans and encourage them to pursue their dreams as he did.
For Rapp, former Knicks guard Jeremy Lin provided that inspiration eight years ago when he became a sensation in New York during his “Linsanity” run. Rapp was in high school at the time, and seeing Lin have so much success in professional sports really pushed him to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL.
Rapp was a guest on the “Fung Bros” YouTube podcast where he talked about who inspired him most in sports.
“I would say Jeremy Lin,” he said. “During that ‘Linsanity’ era, those couple months, he was probably the biggest deal in pro basketball and all of sports. And that’s when I really was like trying to go on to the next level.”
Rapp was asked if Lin’s emergence really helped push him as an athlete.
“I think so, for sure,” Rapp replied. “I kind of use that – you don’t have anyone to look up to. When you’re thinking about the future and you’re like, ‘Can I really make this happen?’ There’s no one out there. But for me to be able to see Jeremy do that on a national stage, obviously pro sports, that kind of gave me a little hope to go after it and attack it.”
Making it to the NFL isn’t easy for anyone, but Rapp says he had to overcome additional hurdles because of his race. He was overlooked by coaches because he’s Asian, which made his path to the pros difficult.
“I would go to college camps and stuff like that and just because I didn’t look like the typical football player – what is out in the real world right now in the NFL, what looks like a typical football player – I think I was not given the chances and as many looks from college coaches. Which I don’t really blame the college coaches because they’re just doing their jobs,” he said.
Rapp doesn’t want other players to go through what he did as they progress through their football careers, which is why he’s set out to help and inspire them.
“I didn’t have (expletive). And that’s kind of why I took on this role to be this role model or figure for kids who are in my position when they’re growing up, who I didn’t have growing up to look up to someone,” he said.
Rapp is expected to be a full-time starter for the Rams next season after putting together a solid first year in the NFL. And as his popularity and success grow, so too will his ability to help a younger generation trying to follow his path.