More Jamar Taylor Content
Sticking with defense, the Miami Dolphins went ahead and addressed the secondary with their second-round pick and 54th overall, taking Boise State cornerback Jamar Taylor.
“He’s a great kid with prototypical size and speed,” Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland said. “He’s very smart, very physical and can play inside and outside so we’re very happy to have him. He’s got very good ball skills and plays with a great awareness and instinct.”
As happy as Ireland and Head Coach Joe Philbin are to have Taylor on the roster, he’s even more excited.
“I’m happy the coaches gave me a shot and I’m looking forward to coming down there and contributing to the team,” Taylor said. “I think my strengths are being able to play man defense, being able to play zone defense and just being smart and not afraid to tackle and just being able to whatever my defense asks of me.”
Back at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Taylor wowed the scouts and coaches by running a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash, bench pressing 225 pounds 22 times and doing the 20-yard shuttle in 4.06 seconds. That allowed him to move up a lot of draft boards and he’s not afraid to get involved as a run stopper.
Taylor joins a secondary with a mix of veteran cornerbacks like
“I play with a swagger and I’m kind of chippy,” said Taylor, who redshirted as a sophomore because of depth at the position. “I like to talk stuff, I like to have fun and I like to keep a smile on my face. I play real aggressive and I’ll let you know what I’m doing.”
The Dolphins showed interest in Taylor early on and were impressed during his interview in Indianapolis at the Combine. He was brought down for a visit and continued to impress.
During his time at Boise State, Taylor played all over the secondary, starting out at the dime and the nickel before the coaching staff moved him outside to the boundary. He feels comfortable wherever he lines up and hopes to continue his upward trend.
“From my freshman year to now, if you look at it I was ok and ok, and then I kind of took off,” Taylor said. “This year I had a great coach in Coach (Jimmy) Lake (Boise State Defensive Backs Coach) and I mean he took my game from a sub-par player to an even better player this last year. You know I feel like I was overlooked a lot, but it is what it is. I’ve always been overlooked throughout my career. I still got that chip on my shoulder, so like I said I’m happy to be a Dolphin though and I’m ready to go to work.”
