PatsFans.com Menu
PatsFans.com - The Hub For New England Patriots Fans

2016 Draft Prospect Thread


Quite honestly I always felt like the sort of player that your are describing has skills that are at least as important as pure athleticism.

Yes, those rare true blue chip players have both (see Kuechley or Collins)...

Collins is still mostly pure athleticism. His coverage instincts suck.
 
Collins is still mostly pure athleticism. His coverage instincts suck.

I wouldn't say that his coverage instincts suck but that they are still at best average. I have seen a lot more clueless LBs strolling around the middle of the field than Collins.
 
Currently my favorite RB prospect. Yes, there are running backs I like much better i.e (elliot). When I say “favorite “ Im generally speaking about a player who I like as a prospect, and will/should be going in the rounds (3-6th) Which I feel are worthy of spending the amount of draft capital on.


Kelvin Taylor RB Florida


5’10 215lbs.


Kelvin Taylor, 22, is the son of former NFL star, and former New England Patriot RB Fred Taylor. He’s a 3 year player out of Florida. He’s a Former 5 Star recruit and the #1 RB prospect in that HS class (2013) He broke Emmit Smiths Florida HS rushing record (since broken by Derick Henry)


During his time in florida, he was a fairly productive player on a horrible offense, despite constantly having a revolving door with both coaches and QB’s during his 3 years down in the swamp.


When I watch his tape, I like a lot of what I see. He posses a good combination of size, strength, and balance. He has good vision and makes smart decision is his cuts when running between the tackles. He also appears to have great ability too quickly turn the edge and head upfield when running sideline to sideline. He has a real hard running style, it reminds me of the way todd Gurley runs with initial patience and then a huge burst of explosion. He's also moving forward when carries the ball, something I highly admire in runners.


I really like him as a prospect. If he’s sitting there in the 4th, I think he would be a good pick. With only 486 carries in his college career, he is a young physical player with low mileage. Oh it also helps that he never fumbled once in his 3 year career at florida.


Ill let you guys do some more research on the man.



Taylor's my favorite RB in the draft as well. He's been my only real draft binky since December. Excited to do his profile.

Not Jimmy G binky level yet, but if BB reached on him I wouldn't be upset. Hopefully BB likes him with our round 3 comp pick.

I personally don't understand how Elliott is top 25 and this kid is round 4.
 
Taylor's my favorite RB in the draft as well. He's been my only real draft binky since December. Excited to do his profile.

Not Jimmy G binky level yet, but if BB reached on him I wouldn't be upset. Hopefully BB likes him with our round 3 comp pick.

I personally don't understand how Elliott is top 25 and this kid is round 4.


I don't think hell kill the combine to an extent where he'll rocket up draft boards either. He does have a very explosive first few steps, so he might crank out a high 4.4, 40 at best. Im thinking more in the 4.5 range. His top end speed is his biggest weakness. When I compared him to Gurley, I was comparing how he explodes to his top speed very quickly, However unlike Gurley or even C.J Procise, he doest have that 6th gear and after burner speed. A good example would be, he ran an 11.87 best 100 meter dash in High school. To compare that to a player like Gurley who ran a 10.8 or a Christian McCaffrey who ran A 10.2 100 IN HIGHSCHOOL. Thats that top end speed I'm talking about. Although that speed is nice, I don't think its a make or break. I like everything else about him
 
I don't think hell kill the combine to an extent where he'll rocket up draft boards either. He does have a very explosive first few steps, so he might crank out a high 4.4, 40 at best. Im thinking more in the 4.5 range. His top end speed is his biggest weakness. When I compared him to Gurley, I was comparing how he explodes to his top speed very quickly, However unlike Gurley or even C.J Procise, he doest have that 6th gear and after burner speed. A good example would be, he ran an 11.87 best 100 meter dash in High school. To compare that to a player like Gurley who ran a 10.8 or a Christian McCaffrey who ran A 10.2 100 IN HIGHSCHOOL. Thats that top end speed I'm talking about. Although that speed is nice, I don't think its a make or break. I like everything else about him

Kelvin Taylor - Pro Football Hub

Taylor didn't have full games on Youtube so I had to rely on memory and a DVRed Gators game. After going more in depth he's definitely at the top of my list if BB decides to draft a RB.
 
Kelvin Taylor - Pro Football Hub

Taylor didn't have full games on Youtube so I had to rely on memory and a DVRed Gators game. After going more in depth he's definitely at the top of my list if BB decides to draft a RB.

I haven't really watched anything on him but I know he weighs about 215 or something like that. Do you guys really think he can last running up the middle?
 
Kelvin Taylor - Pro Football Hub

Taylor didn't have full games on Youtube so I had to rely on memory and a DVRed Gators game. After going more in depth he's definitely at the top of my list if BB decides to draft a RB.

I scouted Florida several this season for Sports betting purposes. He stuck out during the time, so naturally I came back to him during the draft process.
 
I scouted Florida several this season for Sports betting purposes. He stuck out during the time, so naturally I came back to him during the draft process.
That's one of the aspects that I miss from choosing to stick with pro wagering, as opposed to both as in the past. I'm simply not as familiar with the draft prospects as I used to be.
 
I personally don't understand how Elliott is top 25 and this kid is round 4.

We're talking about a guy who's collected 41 touchdowns and almost 4,000 yards in the past TWO years alone. Ezekiel Elliot is not only "top 25," but a lot of the mocks I've seen have him lasting to the 10-12 range, at worst.

The reason being is due to several key traits. 1) We all know what a bellcow/workhorse RB he is, and what awesome speed and moves he possesses, but that's nothing more than a small fraction of his value. 2) He's seriously pro ready for the NFL level, and you can see that in the dedication to blocking for other players when he knows the ball isn't coming to him. He was easily the best skill position blocker in all of college football, in my opinion, and that is a trait that will get noticed very quickly. 3) His ability to pick up the blitz automatically gives him a leg up on the competition as well, and we know how key that is to being a "complete" NFL player. Unless your name is Todd Gurley or Adrian Peterson, you aren't likely to see the field until you can successfully protect your franchise's QB.

If you want to go on, you have 4) his excellent leadership ability and maturity (minor complaining about the offensive gameplan and lack of carries...rightfully so, in OSU's only loss of the season...on senior day...in the pouring rain, notwithstanding). 5) He also possesses the ability to catch balls out of the backfield in the same vein as other dual threats such as Le'Veon Bell, etc. He averaged about 7 yards per grab when targeted.
 
I haven't really watched anything on him but I know he weighs about 215 or something like that. Do you guys really think he can last running up the middle?

AP weighed 217.
Jamal Charles was 200lbs coming out.
Ladainian Tomlinson was 219.
Thats just a few of the many names.

215lbs is just fine in most cases. I Especially believe this to be true if its here in NE ,where he will most likely be in a time share with at least 1 or more players. Obviously I think about health concerns when scouting a player, and this is what lead me back to getting a little refresh on his fathers career. See, I do remember some of it, but I was very young at the time so its hard to remember things in detail like health. What I discovered about his Father (Fred Taylor) was that he was often injured, this was the main issue with him not getting the recognition he should have during, and especially after his career. His father rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season seven times in his 12-year career, all while only playing two full 16-game seasons.

Fred Taylor started 12 of 15 games in 1998 for the Jaguars as a rookie, rushing for 1,223 and 14 touchdowns, a career high, while also catching 44 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns. Taylor's best year came in 2003. Taylor started all 16 games for the Jaguars and set a career high with 1,572 yards rushing on 345 carries for six touchdowns. Taylor was still snubbed from the Pro Bowl that season because the league had inflated numbers from its running backs. Now If we could get even get half of that production out of a pick where Kelvin Taylor is projected to go, it would be a worthwhile pick. Now, lets remember his father was drafted number 8th overall, much higher.
Now In terms of Career body of work, Fred Taylor ranks above Hall of Famers John Riggins, OJ Simpson, and Larry Csonka. He is only 534 yards behind Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas and 580 behind Hall of Famer Franco Harris. Fred Taylor is also ranked above players such as Eddie George, our own Corey Dillon, and even Ricky Watters, all of whom are potential Hall of Fame candidates.

Now if you're wondering why Im talking about his father so much, well its because what I discovered when I turned on the highlight tape of his father after watching Kelvin Taylors highlight video, It was like I was watching an identical player. They run the same, in so many ways. Just take a look for yourself.



For example, look at the clip at 1:28

Then go and look at the clip at 1:07 in the second video.
That is just one of many plays.



Now the potential of Kelvin being a player like his father are great enough to where Im willing to consider drafting him, but his potential for injury do concern me. That's why I suggested double dipping on RB's like we have in the past. I think if you could come out of this draft with both Prosise, and Taylor, you have the potential to be set at the RB position for the next 4 years. Remember, Prosise was also a WR, and is a a excellent special teams player, so worse case you get a player with a high chance of at least preforming on his rookie contract.
 
Last edited:
A 215 lbs RB can work here in NE.

Good work Hawaiian. You have me intrigued with Taylor

I still really like Jonathan Williams though, and CJ Prosise is growing on me..
 
A 215 lbs RB can work here in NE.

Good work Hawaiian. You have me intrigued with Taylor

I still really like Jonathan Williams though, and CJ Prosise is growing on me..

Thank you. Its just something I enjoy doing.

Honestly, what I've learned about doing this for the past several years is, thats its best to have a bunch of players you like. Realistically your chances of even getting the player you like most are slim to none. It can't hurt to like multiple people. Im sure ill find more players as we move along over the next 3 months.
 
A 215 lbs RB can work here in NE.

Good work Hawaiian. You have me intrigued with Taylor

I still really like Jonathan Williams though, and CJ Prosise is growing on me..

Oh, another thing that crossed my mind when researching him was, Fred Taylor is only 40 years old, Kelvin Taylor is 22. Thats means Fred had him when he was only 18 years old, and a student at Florida himself. He played for 4 season's at florida before graduating and entering the draft, which means from the time Kelvin was 5 years old, to the age of 18 (13 seasons) He was around an NFL football locker, program, or lifestyle. Im sure he has a decent football IQ at a minimum, and knows what to expect of a NFL lifestyle, and being a professional.. Theres just so much I like in him.
 
While we're talking running backs, what's the consensus on DJ Foster? He reminds me of a Shane Vereen clone. Not sure why he's a projected 6th round pick.
 
We're talking about a guy who's collected 41 touchdowns and almost 4,000 yards in the past TWO years alone. Ezekiel Elliot is not only "top 25," but a lot of the mocks I've seen have him lasting to the 10-12 range, at worst.

The reason being is due to several key traits. 1) We all know what a bellcow/workhorse RB he is, and what awesome speed and moves he possesses, but that's nothing more than a small fraction of his value. 2) He's seriously pro ready for the NFL level, and you can see that in the dedication to blocking for other players when he knows the ball isn't coming to him. He was easily the best skill position blocker in all of college football, in my opinion, and that is a trait that will get noticed very quickly. 3) His ability to pick up the blitz automatically gives him a leg up on the competition as well, and we know how key that is to being a "complete" NFL player. Unless your name is Todd Gurley or Adrian Peterson, you aren't likely to see the field until you can successfully protect your franchise's QB.

If you want to go on, you have 4) his excellent leadership ability and maturity (minor complaining about the offensive gameplan and lack of carries...rightfully so, in OSU's only loss of the season...on senior day...in the pouring rain, notwithstanding). 5) He also possesses the ability to catch balls out of the backfield in the same vein as other dual threats such as Le'Veon Bell, etc. He averaged about 7 yards per grab when targeted.

Supa, you are an OSU fan right? You must've watched most of his games. Can you tell me what you think of my concerns/verdict on him? These notes are from 3 full games on youtube and memory from what I saw of him during the year:

Ezekiel Elliott
Pros
Reaches 2nd Gear speed quickly
Natural pass catcher
Quickly reaches edges when cutting outside
Sheds tacklers at 2nd level
Nose for the endzone
Great blocker & strong in pass protection

Cons
Comes from Spread-Option Offense - Will need to adjust to running in formations other than shotgun
Needs to be more decisive at line of scrimmage
Character concerns - Called out coaching staff following a loss
Less effective runner between the tackles
Vision could stand to improve
Lacks elite initial burst
Conclusion: Effective in Space/edges, Pass Catcher type RB, Mid-RD 2
Player Comparison: Ahmad Bradshaw



Elliott's blocking/receiving ability is awesome and will translate at the next level. I'm just not sure on his ability running between the tackles in a pro style offense.
 
While we're talking running backs, what's the consensus on DJ Foster? He reminds me of a Shane Vereen clone. Not sure why he's a projected 6th round pick.

He switched to WR this year and didn't have a particularly good season. Has also dropped some Wight into the low 190s. I agree with your comp, I was all over Foster last year as a potential Vereen replacement.
 
A 215 lbs RB can work here in NE.

Good work Hawaiian. You have me intrigued with Taylor

I still really like Jonathan Williams though, and CJ Prosise is growing on me..

Yes please on Jonathan Williams.
 


Wednesday Patriots Notebook 4/17: News and Notes
Tuesday Patriots Notebook 4/16: News and Notes
Monday Patriots Notebook 4/15: News and Notes
Patriots News 4-14, Mock Draft 3.0, Gilmore, Law Rally For Bill 
Potential Patriot: Boston Globe’s Price Talks to Georgia WR McConkey
Friday Patriots Notebook 4/12: News and Notes
Not a First Round Pick? Hoge Doubles Down on Maye
Thursday Patriots Notebook 4/11: News and Notes
MORSE: Patriots Mock Draft #5 and Thoughts About Dugger Signing
Matthew Slater Set For New Role With Patriots
Back
Top