Getty Eagles LB Davion Taylor is starting to thrive in his second season in midnight green.
Davion Taylor made headlines in October when he was the clue to a Jeopardy question that had to do with his religious beliefs. One month later, the second-year linebacker is turning heads with his play on the football field.
Taylor, who saw just 32 snaps in 2020, has worked his way up the linebacker depth chart for the Philadelphia Eagles. The 23-year-old has seen 89 combined snaps over the past two weeks and now has five NFL starts under his belt. Taylor – the 103rd overall pick in 2020 – has brought a physical edge to the defense since he and T.J. Edwards took over as the starters.
“We had a lot of guys play very physical,” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. “But I thought our entire unit really had a stinger, edge, whatever you want to call it.”
Head coach Nick Sirianni has made physicality a buzz word (or Gardner Minshew did in a viral video). The organization thought so highly of Taylor that they released veteran Eric Wilson. That faith was rewarded with two forced fumbles in Week 10 and a team-high six solo tackles.
“He’ll grow more and more and more each week through the reps that he’s getting,” Sirianni said. “As long as he’s willing to put in the work and he’s definitely one of those guys that is, another high character guy that works hard, that loves football, that’s tough, that’s willing to put in the work to get better every single day.”
He created the biggest play of the day against Denver when he poked the ball loose from Melvin Gordon. Teammate Darius Slay took the fumble back 83 yards for a touchdown. According to Gannon, Taylor has shown tremendous growth in his first five NFL starts. He has 30 total tackles during that stretch, showing off his 4.39 speed on multiple plays.
“He’s playing well. He’s a unique player as far as his skill set, what he can do when the ball is snapped,” Gannon said. “We ask our linebackers to do a lot in the run and pass game. He’s continuing to get better on certain plays that he hasn’t seen because he hasn’t played a lot of ball. Some mistakes he made a couple weeks ago, he’s not making anymore.”
Davion Taylor knocks it out, Slay turns on the burners and takes it to the house for 82 yards!!! 🔥
#Eagles
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Eagles Protect Three Players
The Eagles protected three practice squad players on Tuesday (November 16): T Le’Raven Clark, WR John Hightower, T Brett Toth. Those guys cannot be poached by a rival franchise. Toth was waived to make room for new cornerback Kary Vincent Jr. and then re-signed to the practice squad on November 4.
Meanwhile, Hightower was active against the Los Angeles Chargers and saw 11 total snaps, including a fumble on a kick return. Clark is a backup swing tackle who hasn’t played since Week 6. He’s basically a veteran insurance policy in case anything happens to Andre Dillard.
Figuring Out Crowded Backfield
Miles Sanders is eligible to return from injured reserve, although the Eagles haven’t made that move yet. If they do, the backfield is suddenly going to be a bit crowded following the emergence of the two-headed monster of Jordan Howard and Boston Scott. That duo combined for 164 yards versus Denver while accounting for five touchdowns over the past three weeks.
Miles Sanders is nearing a return but #Eagles OC Shane Steichen wouldn’t update how the RB touches might change. (Personal opinion: Jordan Howard should maintain a big role). #FlyEaglesFly
Sanders will likely return to the starter’s role as soon as he’s activated, but those guys should continue to see carries. Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen wasn’t ready to make a decision on how that all might play out, though.
“I think we have a lot of good backs and we’ll work through that this week and see where that goes,” Steichen said. “A lot of guys can do different things for us, some good things, out of the backfield running the football. It’s a good problem for us.”