Joe Robbins/Getty Images Jamar Watson #31 and Calvin Taylor Jr. #91 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrate after a defensive stop against the Missouri Tigers on October 26, 2019.
According to USA Today, the Pittsburgh Steelers had defensive end, Calvin Taylor, in for a visit on Wednesday, this after nose tackle Dan McCullers terminated his contract with the Steelers and signed with the Chicago Bears.
Steelers visit with Kentucky DE Calvin Taylor on Wednesday
Taylor’s most notable trait is his size. He’s a shade under 6-foot-9 and 310 pounds, unusually tall for a defensive lineman, or any position, really. Taylor signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent after the 2020 NFL Draft and spent training camp with the team but was waived when Mike Tomlin & Co. cut the roster to 53 players.
Calvin Taylor’s College Career (University of Kentucky)
Calvin Taylor made 22 starts for the Kentucky Wildcats, the same school that produced Steelers outside linebacker Bud Dupree and Steelers running back Benny Snell Jr.
In college, he totaled 85 tackles, including 16.5 tackles for loss, along with 10.5 sacks, five pass deflections and three forced fumbles. Almost all of that production came during his final year at Kentucky. In 2019 he was third-team All-SEC at defensive tackle, contributing 36 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, four pass deflections and a team-leading 8.5 sacks, plus the aforementioned forced fumbles.
The Georgia native chose to go to Kentucky over Charlotte and Temple, where he also reportedly had scholarship offers.
If signed to Pittsburgh’s practice squad, he would be just the second defensive lineman on the squad, which currently features DE Henry Mondeaux, a first-year end out of Oregon.
The Steelers and NFL Power Rankings
At least one NFL observer has been super-impressed by Pittsburgh’s 2-0 start, that being Dan Hanzus, Around the NFL writer for NFL.com. Hanzus has the Steelers at No. 4 in this week’s power rankings, behind the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers, first to third, respectively.
But most NFL analysts and observers are taking a wait-and-see approach in deciding whether the Steelers are for real, with ESPN ranking Pittsburgh at No. 11, behind 1-1 teams like the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots.
For its part, Pro Football Focus (PFF) also has the Steelers at No. 11, with a projected win total of 8.9 games and a 56% chance of making the playoffs.
As for the other teams in the AFC North, PFF has the Ravens No. 1 in its power rankings, with the Cleveland Browns at No. 19 and the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 30.
The two teams that Pittsburgh has defeated to date are rather low in PFF’s rankings, with the New York Giants at No. 31 and the Denver Broncos at No. 23. The Houston Texans are a tougher test, ranked No. 20, though PFF projects just 6.6 wins.
While the J.J. Watt-led Texans are 0-2, the schedule makers weren’t kind to Houston, starting them off against the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, followed by a home game vs. the Ravens, arguably the two best teams in the league.
Next week the Steelers visit the Tennessee Titans, who rank No. 7 in PFF’s power rankings.
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Steelers Host Free Agent Defensive Lineman