Getty Taylor Decker watches from the bench in Detroit.
Taylor Decker didn’t want to leave the Detroit Lions, but he also wasn’t motivated to rush the team into an extension, so he simply let things play out.
Interestingly, the timing matched up perfectly for the offensive tackle, who’s new deal with Detroit was made official on Wednesday afternoon. Decker spoke to the media afterward, and said while his new payday is certainly nice for him, he isn’t planning on spending it all in one place.
Decker seemed relieved to have the deal done, and it’s certainly nice to see him sticking around, especially given the story of how emotional he got after the deal was finished off.
So often, professional athletes are portrayed as greedy, but in most cases they are humble folks in the end. Decker’s reaction to his life changing contract is only more proof of that, and in his case, it’s nice to see a great person get rewarded for his hard work.
Taylor Decker Rated 23rd Best NFL Tackle
How has Decker played for the team since getting drafted? The answer is likely close to a grey area rather than black and white, and recently, Pro Football Focus and writer Anthony Treash helped to shed some additional light on the matter. The site recently ranked all of the offensive tackles in the league and Decker placed on the list at No. 23
Here’s what Treash wrote:
“Decker has consistently been an above-average player throughout his four-year NFL career. He’s earned an above-average grade on true pass sets and has avoided negatively graded run blocks at an above-average rate, too — both of these are stable metrics for offensive tackles. Decker closed out the 2019 NFL season from Week 8 on as the league’s sixth-highest-graded tackle and will look to continue that in 2020.”
Whether or not the Lions bring back Decker via re-signing before his deal is up is anybody’s guess at this point in time, and those decisions seem to remain fluid in terms of actual negotiations with Bob Quinn and the team.
Obviously, Decker is a player who has graded positively at some points and negatively in others, but PFF seems to think that he should be valued a bit more by this list and some of their metrics which grade him in a more positive light.
This shows many are expecting a solid 2020 season from Decker.
Taylor Decker Stats
Quinn’s first draft pick from 2016 has run hot and cold in Detroit. While Decker has been a decent piece, he hasn’t been the transformational lineman the Lions probably hoped for when they selected him early on. There’s been a ton of change in Detroit up front the last few years, and it will be interesting to see if Quinn commits to more time with Decker, or if the Lions look elsewhere and try to start over at tackle. Decker has youth on his side, but this is a big decision for the franchise to make.
In his Lions career, Decker has played in 55 games with 55 starts and also has a receiving touchdown to his credit collected in the 2018 season. As a whole, he more than earned this extension.