NFL Draft Day Three: Keith Taylor to the Panthers

Just in time to switch over to the UW spring game, Keith Taylor came off the board in the NFL Draft. Taylor joins former Husky Shaq Thompson in Carolina, though he’ll have work to do to establish himself the way Thompson has within the unit.

The Panthers had a big need at DB in the draft at both CB and safety. They addressed the CB need early with South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn (son of former NFL WR Joe Horn) in the top ten of the draft. They did not select a safety, and Taylor arrives as the second defensive back at pick #166 overall.

Taylor clearly has the measurables to be a successful NFL corner. At 6’2” and almost 190 pounds, he is the physical prototype for the position. He has good speed and long arms. His production was not always elite, due in part to QBs throwing away from him in his career. Nonetheless, he did not intercept a pass at UW, so he will have to make plays on the ball to cement himself as a pro.

Other Notes

-Taylor joins Joe Tryon (1st), Levi Onwuzurike (2nd), and Elijah Moden (4th) as Dawg defenders drafted this year.

-The Pac-12 was well-represented in the early parts of Day 3. Jay Tufele from USC was the first pick of the day to the Jags. Fellow Trojan Amon-Ra St. Brown went to Detroit a few picks later, followed by Stanford C Drew Dalman to Atlanta. Later in the round, the Vikings nabbed Cal DB Camryn Bynum. In addition to Taylor in the 5th, Oregon DB Deommodore Lenoir went to the 49ers (Seattle fans can continue to root against him).