Entering the 2019 season it was expected that this would be Jonathan Taylor’s final season with Wisconsin. Considering there isn’t much left for the two-time Doak Walker Award winner to accomplish at the collegiate level as Taylor will go down as one of the greatest running backs in college football history.
After setting an FBS freshman rushing record for yards (1,977) he followed up his phenomenal freshman season by posting consecutive 2,000 yard rushing seasons. In addition, he was named the Big Ten Running Back of the Year and he was a unanimous first-team All-American over his final two seasons in Madison.
In this Badgers Wire feature, we will examine Taylor’s strengths, weaknesses and where he could possibly land in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Strengths:
Ther’es no denying Taylor’s production. Considering in the 41 career games he appeared in he only failed to rush for 100 yards in nine games and he never posted consecutive games of less than 100 yards rushing.
One area that became clear about Taylor was how good his patience and vision are. Taylor was rarely tackled behind the line of scrimmage as over his three years he averaged 37.6 yards per loss a season. Taylor was able to make the first defender miss as he’s able to get to the second level as it took multiple defenders at times to tackle him.
One question scouts had that surrounded Taylor entering the combine was how fast would Taylor run in the 40-yard dash? Any concerns about his speed were put to rest as he ran an impressive 4.39 second in the 40-yard dash.
That time will certainly boost his stock and help elevate him up some draft boards and potentially move him into the back of the first round.