It's Time to Trade Taylor

[Fade]

Taylor is on the last year of his rookie contract and I have a hard time believing he can fit into the Seahawks plans long term.

* Nwosu has already been extended.
* Mafe only in his 2nd year and looking like a beast.
* Hall only a rookie and looking very impressive, not like a rookie at all.
* Tyreke Smith is fine as a 4th edge guy and long term developmental piece.

Taylor is the odd man out and conveniently, he should have some value as a sack artist. He posted 9.5 sacks last year while being a sieve against the run.

Flip him for a Vet DT, or sell him for a draft pick. The Seahawks would save $1.5M in cap space if traded for a pick, or offset $1.5M worth of salary of the player they trade for.

The Seahawks can pull the trigger before the season--which I recommend.
Or they can wait closer until the deadline during the season, whichever is fine.

Bottom-line, they gotta get something for him before he walks out the door as a UFA. 9.5 sacks has value in the league. A comp pick is unlikely as his numbers will suffer with the players above needing to get reps, and it won't be nearly as valuable as the pick they could get in a trade before the season starts. Hopefully he can get on the field in the final preseason game and have a nice audition to raise his value for the good ol' fashioned pump 'n dump.

Before the preseason, I figured Hall would look more like a rookie. So the rotation was going to be Nwosu, Mafe, and Taylor. With Hall getting the leftover snaps this season. But Hall is ready now. Time to move Taylor.

 

[Recon_Hawk]

I thought Taylor is a restricted free agent next year.

 

[jammerhawk]

There will be some interesting roster moves close to final cuts.

At present I cannot recall if Taylor was credited with a season during his first year he was on PUP until the end of the season although may have been cleared to practice.

 

[CPHawk]

Are there any teams who want a bad run defender, who gets most his sacks in garbage time?

 

[bileever]

I didn't cast a vote, because for me, it depends on what we can get in exchange. Since Taylor would be a restricted free agent at the end of the year, by offering him around $4 million, we can get a second-round pick if someone else wants to sign him, and a first-round pick by offering him $6 million. So if we can get a second-round pick or equivalent, I would trade him. The position is starting to get crowded, especially if the coaches feel that Levi Bell is a keeper. (He had another strong game on Saturday, and once again got the highest PFF grades on the defense.)

Levi Bell leads Seahawks with highest Pro Football Focus grade this week

The Seahawks might just have a strong and deep edge rotation after all.

seahawkswire.usatoday.com

@CPHawk, I think there are definitely teams that would want a 9.5 sack guy.

 

[onanygivensunday]

At present I cannot recall if Taylor was credited with a season during his first year he was on PUP until the end of the season although may have been cleared to practice.

He was not credited with an accrued year according to otc.com... so therefore he will be a RFA after this year.

 

[bileever]

According to spotrac.com, Taylor is a restricted free agent next year:

Darrell Taylor

Darrell Taylor contract and salary cap details, full contract breakdowns, salaries, signing bonus, roster bonus, dead money, and valuations.

www.spotrac.com

 

[keasley45]

It's time to wait for the season to play out before making premature statements about how bad one player is (Taylor) vs how good one who hasn't played a meaningful snap in the NFL is (Hall).

 

[jammerhawk]

If he was not credited with an accrued season his contract tolled for that season. If he is a RFA then I believe he got credit for the year.

 

[ivotuk]

I think it's a great idea. We haven't seen Cameron Young yet, and a couple of good preseason games against the run mean little. Darrel could bring good value from a team like Washington that is carrying an injury prone Chase Young.

 

[Jville]

If he was not credited with an accrued season his contract tolled for that season. If he is a RFA then I believe he got credit for the year.

Mr. Taylor spent the 2020 season on the non-football injury list.
To date, he has accrued 2 seasons. This year will be his third year.

 

[olyfan63]

Let's keep Taylor for another year. Maybe with a better D-Line in front of him, and Bobby organizing the D, he'll do better all-around. Also, in any case, he's a good situational pass rusher and that's a great thing to have.

Can anybody think of D-Linemen or LBs for whom the "light bulb went on" in their 3rd year in the league? We know it happens with WRs. Or is it rare for Edge/LB players?

What do people see as Taylor's ceiling? Chris Clemons? Cliff Avril?

 

[jammerhawk]

Thank you Jville!!!

That means he is still under contract for 2 more seasons. His contract would toll for his 1st season.

 

[Jville]

"This guy's so fast," said Wright. "This guy can bend so well. This guy is so elusive. He's so creative."


"I look at Darrell Taylor," said Wright. "He hasn't even figured it out yet. He has not figured out how good he can be. Now just look at what he brings to the table. He fell into 9.5 sacks last year. I'm telling you, if it can just click in his brain like, 'I am talented, I am good, I want to take this coaching from Cliff Avril and (Michael Bennett), I'm going to just tap into that dog inside of me,' this guy can be a 13-14 sack type of dude. He can be a three-down player. It's right there for the taking. I swear to you, it's right there for the taking."

Link >>> https://www.seahawks.com/news/08-18-2023-k-j-wright-on-unlocking-darrell-taylor-s-15-sack-potential

 

[BigMeach]

I'm on the fence about trading Taylor. If we can extend him for a decent deal I would rather do that. But if that's not on the table of course I'd rather get as much value as we can.

I just think he has more to show than he has shown.

 

[Maelstrom787]

I think his name recognition is beneath what his actual potential is. I think he'd bring in unfavorable offers on the current trade market and could be re-signed for beneath market value.

For that reason, I'd err towards keeping him on the roster and seeing if he can put it all together. Listen to offers, though. For sure.

 

[Nunya]

I hate polls that puts words in my mouth. Why not a simple Yes or No?

 

[knownone]

Trading Taylor is an interesting question from a long-term perspective. He probably won't get an extension. And the Seahawks might be able to get decent value for him. It is challenging to gauge his worth on the trade market, though. The closest comparison is Ngakoue, who netted a 2nd round pick a few years back. However, Ngakoue didn't have Taylor's injury concerns, was a more consistent pass rusher, and a marginally better run defender. So what could Seattle get for Taylor, a 3rd or 4th round pick? Is that worth it?

A rotational edge rusher capable of getting ten sacks in a season is valuable to a contender. So Seattle should only consider trading Taylor if they are skeptical about their playoff chances or are highly confident in their pass rush depth, such that Taylor would get minimal playing time. Both scenarios seem unlikely. Seattle will still feature Taylor in pass-rushing situations, and his production should benefit from a narrower role that fits his skill set.

Despite finding him frustrating to watch, I wouldn't trade him.

 

[Scout]

There was this guy named Michael Bennett that didn't play the run as a TB Buc on the edge. But then he learned to play with more control as a Hawk in 2013 while still being able to showcase his powerful and skillful pass rushing repertoire.

It is more involved in that Michael Bennett had three different defensive coordinators asking him to do three different things for each respective scheme while as a Buc. For example, Jim Bates' bump and run 2 gap defense, Raheem Morris Amoeba/big nickle defense, Sheridan's fire zone, heavy stunting defense). Hard for any young player to excel and improve to be honest under such circumstances.

The point is that there are many edge rushers that can play the run in the NFL. But it is rare that these same edge rushers can suddenly become good to elite pass rushers. But edge rushers that flash early can overtime learn to play the run better if they are willing to learn.

My crystal ball says that the Hawks want to see what Taylor can do and let it play out this season. Plus, if there is an offer too good to pass up maybe the Hawks do consider that offer. But sometimes you have to let young players go through growing pains and they have to show they are moving in the right direction.

 

[getnasty]

I say keep him fresh for obvious pass down and let him eat. Yeah Hall and Mafe are looking solid but Taylor is the best of the 3 at getting after the QB today.